Leah Douglas

US autism advisory board will not meet in March as scheduled, health agency says A U.S. autism advisory board will not hold a scheduled meeting ​in March, the Department of Health ‌and Human Services said on Saturday.

NEW: The IACC, a federal autism advisory board, will not meet in March as scheduled, according to HHS.

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Also, way more people think Big Food is harming Americans’ health than Big Pharma - 77% to 60%!

Americans trust vaccines, school mandates, rejecting Trump agenda, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds A bipartisan majority of Americans believe vaccines are safe and that children should receive them to attend school, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, illustrating the challenges Trump's administ...

📊🚨 Big poll findings today from @reuters.com: Americans trust vaccines and school mandates, and largely disapprove of reducing childhood shots - a rebuke of Trump’s agenda to upend decades of health policy.

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

MAHA activists warn Trump could lose their support over glyphosate order Members of the U.S. Make America Healthy Again movement that backs Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. say an executive order this week to boost domestic production of the weedkiller glyphosate ris...

NEW: MAHA activists warn Trump could lose their support in the November midterms over Wednesday's order promoting domestic production of the weedkiller glyphosate.

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Buoyed by Kennedy's success, MAHA groups take aim at state vaccine laws U.S. activists allied with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hope to ban vaccine mandates in as many as a dozen states this year, building on a law they conceived and passed in Idaho, according t...

MAHA activists aligned with RFK Jr, encouraged by his overhaul of federal vaccine guidelines, want to ban state vaccine mandates for schools and employment.

Here’s why, how and where:

www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

My latest for @Reuters was featured on the front page all day yesterday. Miss it? Read more:

USDA searched for terms like 'diversity,' 'climate modeling' to target grants for cancellation - www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

US Supreme Court allows Trump's passport policy targeting transgender people The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Donald Trump's administration to bar applicants for U.S. passports from designating the sex reflecting their gender identities on the document, part of the Republican president's crackdown on the rights of transgender Americans.

US Supreme Court allows Trump's passport policy targeting transgender people reut.rs/3Jk5Qw4

The start of November has brought confusion, concern and painful choices for many SNAP recipients as benefits lapse for the first time ever.

Some are forgoing medications or eating less to stretch tight food budgets.

My latest: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Two of the top three stories on @reuters.com are the latest news on SNAP and WIC. Keep with us for the latest.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO USE CONTINGENCY FUNDS TO PARTIALLY PAY FOR NOVEMBER'S SNAP FOOD BENEFITS, COURT FILING SAYS - Reuters

Food aid for 42 million imperiled by shutdown politics, as Trump tests law Nearly 42 million people are set to lose food aid due to the second-longest U.S. government shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress continue to blame each other for a weeks-long legislative stalemate.

Neither party shows signs of changing its position to end the 29-day federal shutdown, as SNAP benefits for 42 million people are set to lapse Nov. 1. Meanwhile, the USDA defends a legal U-turn on contingency funds.

From Bo Erickson and I for @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/business/hea...

A banner on the USDA website says SNAP benefits will not go out on November 1.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry.”

An agency memo yesterday said the USDA will not use contingency funds for Nov. benefits: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

Food banks, already under strain, say there is little they can do to prepare for the likelihood that SNAP and WIC benefits will lapse in November.

We talked to 9 food banks in 8 states and heard the same thing again and again.

“We’re in some real trouble.”

www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

USDA memo says it will not use emergency funds for November food benefits - www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

NEW: the USDA says it will not use $5 billion in contingency funds to pay for November SNAP benefits.

The benefits are set to lapse at the end of this month due to the federal shutdown.

States, mayors, House Democrats etc have been urging the agency to use this money. Story TK

🚨Two dozen states have warned SNAP recipients that November benefits will not go out if the gov’t shutdown continues.

November could see a historic benefit gap for nearly 7 mln WIC and 41 mln SNAP recipients.

“This could get really bad.”

www.reuters.com/business/env...

U.S. farmers on Monday criticized Trump's suggestion that the country may import more beef from Argentina. Farmers have also lost out to the South American nation on soybean sales to China.

"This plan only creates chaos,” said one cattle group.

With Tom Polansek: www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Federal Layoffs Update 🚨

We could have a better sense today of the # of federal staff laid off since the shutdown began.

A judge ordered the Trump admin to provide an accounting of the firings by 2 p.m. ET today, October 17.

The Trump admin previously said 4,108 people lost their jobs.

What the shutdown means for the Women, Infants and Children program The GOP is blaming the Left for keeping baby formula and healthy foods out of the hands of low-income families.

Thanks very much to the team at 1A for having me on @npr.org / @wamu.org today to talk about the government shutdown and risks to WIC, and the broader context of rising hunger and federal food aid cuts.

Listen to the segment here: the1a.org/segments/wha...

The Trump administration is expected to announce a plan as soon as Tuesday to bail out U.S. farmers - as much as $15B - but the plan could be difficult to roll out because of the government shutdown.

Read more from me and Bo Erickson at @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Democrats say the Trump administration is violating the Hatch Act by posting political messages on government websites, like the USDA. Reporting by me and Steve Holland.

US government shutdown threatens food-aid program for low-income Americans Crucial food assistance for about 6.7 million low-income Americans has been put in jeopardy.

🚨The WIC nutrition program could face funding shortfalls in days if the government shutdown continues.

Bo Erickson and I report for @reuters.com on why this key aid is now in jeopardy: www.reuters.com/business/hea...

States to end nutrition education programs after Trump cuts On a warm September day in the courtyard of a San Francisco senior living community, a dozen residents shake their hips and throw their hands in the air to the beat of, fittingly, Earth, Wind & Fire's "September."

There's a lot of news today (!). But take a moment to read this @reuters.com story about a less-covered impact of Trump's federal funding cuts: the end of SNAP-Ed, a nutrition education program that has served millions over 30 years. Its funding ends today.

www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule in September, former CDC head Susan Monarez told Congress on Wednesday.

Kennedy asked her to commit to approving the changes before reviewing scientific evidence, Monarez said.

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

US online disaster planning tool may go dark on Wednesday, agency website says An online disaster management tool that U.S. emergency managers use to communicate may no longer be supported Wednesday, according to a notice posted and later deleted from a federal government website.

NEW: A FEMA disaster management tool that emergency managers use to communicate may no longer be supported Wednesday, according to a notice posted and later deleted from a federal government website.

My latest w/ @courtneyrozen.bsky.social:

www.reuters.com/business/env...

Staff losses at FEMA could compromise disaster response, says watchdog agency Recent staff losses at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the departure of two dozen senior leaders, could compromise the agency's ability to respond to natural disasters this year, according to a report by a government watchdog agency.

The recent loss of 2,500 staff and 24 senior career officials could compromise FEMA's ability to respond to natural disasters this year, according to a report by a government watchdog agency.

My latest for @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/business/env...

Live: CDC director Monarez ousted after RFK Jr. vaccine shifts Kennedy took questions with Texas Governor Abbott during a press conference in Austin. Departing senior CDC officials told Reuters that changes to CDC's vaccine advisory board and other policies drove them to resign.

BREAKING: Changes to the CDC's vaccine advisory board and other vaccine policies drove three senior officials to resign on Wednesday, they told @reuters.com in an interview today shortly after they were escorted from the CDC HQ.

Follow our coverage here: www.reuters.com/world/live-u...

Here's the story: www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...