Defining ‘ultraprocessed’ could spur research, school lunch rules

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is nearing a key milestone in its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda — proposing a definition of ultraprocessed foods.

Stricter scrutiny of nutrition and food additives has been a focal point of the MAHA movement, gaining support from food policy experts as well as lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Ultraprocessed foods have been blamed for widespread obesity rates and malnutrition, as well as being contributing factors to chronic diseases, heart disease and cancers.

But what does it mean to be ultraprocessed? Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the administration is preparing to answer that by next month. Advocates say the result will open avenues to research to determine which products are the most harmful, while providing a basis to clamp down on unhealthy school lunches.

—CQ-Roll Call

Fresno State will remove its Cesar Chavez statue amid ‘profoundly troubling claims’

FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said the university will remove its statue of Cesar Chavez, prominently displayed in the campus Peace Garden, amid “profoundly troubling claims” against the civil rights icon emerged Wednesday in a New York Times investigation.

Jiménez-Sandoval said Wednesday afternoon in a letter to the Fresno State community that the statue would soon come down. By late Wednesday morning, hours after the Times report published, the statue had already been covered in a black cloth.

“These profoundly troubling claims about the rape of women and minors call for our full attention and moral reckoning by removing his statue from our campus,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.

The statue was erected in 1996 and currently stands in the Peace Garden, along with other statues memorializing other civil rights such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

—The Fresno Bee

Temple Israel first responders detail what happened inside synagogue

DETROIT — When first responders arrived Thursday at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township on a report of an active shooter emergency, smoke could be seen pouring through a vent on top of the synagogue, but arriving law enforcement had little idea what they would encounter inside.

More than 100 children and staff members were inside the synagogue after the suspect, identified as Ayman Ghazali, rammed his F-150 truck through the front doors and got into a gunfire exchange with security as his vehicle caught fire, according to an FBI Detroit Office account.

"That was some of the worst smoke I've ever seen in my life," said Mike Bouchard Jr., an Oakland County Sheriff's reserve deputy and son of the longtime county sheriff of the same name. "There was a large fire from the vehicle, so it was thick smoke everywhere. As you try and get towards the threat, the smoke was overwhelming in some cases," Bouchard Jr. added. "There was water pouring from the ceilings. Tough situation to clear."

West Bloomfield Police Department Sgt. Jon Jacob called the situation when he initially arrived "very chaotic." But he said law enforcement was able to locate and contain the suspect in his vehicle within about a half-hour of the active shooter alert going out, although it took more than three hours before "everything was deemed secure" at the site.

—The Detroit News

Takaichi says Trump visit to be ‘extremely difficult’ after warship spat

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned she’s facing an “extremely difficult” meeting with Donald Trump, after the U.S. president criticized Japan for rebuffing his demand for warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Takaichi’s first trip to Washington on Thursday since winning a sweeping mandate had been viewed by Tokyo as an opportunity to showcase the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance, despite challenges over trade. Perhaps more importantly, it was seen as a chance to gain the president’s ear before his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Instead, a showdown over Iran is dominating the agenda. Trump’s call for Japan and other U.S. allies to send battleships into the Middle East handed Takaichi a nearly impossible request — then on Tuesday, Trump angrily withdrew that request, after a lack of support.

While most of his ire appeared reserved for NATO allies, he also named Japan in a social media post declaring the U.S. didn’t “NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” Further complicating Takaichi’s trip, Trump has postponed his visit to Beijing because of the Iran war.

—Bloomberg News