A MAHA Moment: U.S. to Ban Artificial Color Dyes From Food Supply
A more human way to engage with the news...and life.
+ GetSmart: The students in the Philippines wear special hats to stop cheating
Newsbites
Chart of the week: President Trump has issued almost 4x as many executive orders in his first 100 days compared to the same period of his first term (2017).
Canada elections: Mark Clarney will remain the prime minister of Canada as his Liberal party won the largest share of seats in the national election this week. When former prime minister Justin Trudeau resigned on January 6, the front-runner to become the next PM was Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative party held a 20-point lead in the polls at the time. However, following President Trump’s tariffs against Canada and rhetoric that it should become the 51st state of the U.S., the Liberal party quickly gained momentum. The election has largely been portrayed as Canada’s referendum on Trump.
Epstein victim found dead: Virginia Giuffrie, one of the most prominent victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, was found dead in her home in Australia on April 25. The statement from Giuffrie’s family and the initial police report said she died by suicide, although her father said “there’s no way” she took her own life. Her father said he hadn’t spoken to his daughter in years. Virginia, 41, was going through a separation from her husband of 22 years, along with a custody battle for their three children, when she died.
More: Read Nick Bryant’s reaction to Giuffrie’s death. Bryant is the journalist that first published Epstein’s Black Book in 2015 and is now the director of Epstein Justice. Apart from Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, no other individuals potentially implicated in Epstein’s trafficking operation have been prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
The conclave to elect a new pope will begin on May 7. Read our deep dive (available to everyone) on the fascinating process that will take place.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said it has cost the company tens of millions of dollars in electricity resources just to process users saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT. Queries on Large Language Models like ChatGPT are estimated to require about 10x the processing power as a traditional Google search.
Religious Liberty Commission: President Trump announced a new Religious Liberty Commission on Thursday. In his address, Trump said, “We're bringing religion back to our country.” He continued, “I think God answered other prayers because he's put in an administration to run this country that's going to make you proud again, it's going to make you believe and believe more again” (video). The commission includes members such as Bishop Robert Barron, Pastor Franklin Graham, and Dr. Ben Carson (list of members).
More: The commission will focus on areas such as “parental rights in religious education, school choice, conscience protections, attacks on houses of worship, free speech for religious entities, and institutional autonomy.”
The News Memo is wondering…why haven’t we seen more details on the Epstein files?
U.S. and Ukraine reach minerals deal: On Thursday, Ukraine agreed to give the U.S. some access to portions of its natural resources, which include valuable rare-earth minerals, after months of tense back-and-forth negotiations. In essence, the deal creates a type of joint fund to invest in new mining projects and other ventures, with the profit returns being shared by the U.S. and Ukraine. The deal stems from Trump’s demand that the U.S. be given some form of payment after providing significant military aid in the past and potentially more in the future (full document).
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz out: President Trump has fired National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and moved him to a much less important role: UN Ambassador, where he will face an uphill battle to be nominated. Waltz was the official who accidentally added the Atlantic journalist to the national security Signal chat last month. Marco Rubio will fill the role for the time being. Rubio is currently serving as the Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, National Archivist, and Acting Administrator for USAID.
A MAHA Moment: U.S. to Ban Artificial Color Dyes From Food Supply
What’s going on?
On April 22, RFK Jr. announced the government will phase out the use of artificial dyes from the country’s food supply. The plan, implemented by the Food and Drug Administration, will give companies roughly two years to switch from petroleum-based dyes to more natural, vegetable-based alternatives.
"These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end," Kennedy said during his announcement.
At the same time, the FDA will be “fast-tracking the review of calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and other natural alternatives to synthetic food dyes." In addition, the FDA said it will approve four new natural dyes in the coming weeks.
Some brands, such as Lays and Tostitos, have already announced they will phase out artificial dyes in their products by the end of the year to comply with the new policy. The CEO of PepsiCo, which owns Lays and Tostitos, says their entire product portfolio will follow suit within the next two years.
Here is a list of the dyes to be banned:
FD&C Green No. 3 (i.e., Lime Jell-O)
FD&C Red No. 40 (i.e,. Kellogg's Fruit Loops)
FD&C Yellow No. 5 (i.e, Mountain Dew)
FD&C Yellow No. 6 (i.e., M&M's)
FD&C Blue No. 1 (i.e., Blue Raspberry Gatorade)
FD&C Blue No. 2 (i.e., Lucky Charms)
In January, the FDA announced a ban on Red No. 3, which is a bright red dye that is often used in cherry-flavored drinks and has been linked to cancer in animals. The department also plans to ban Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B in the coming months.
How many dyes are there?
The FDA has approved 36 dyes, 9 of which are synthetic (primarily derived from petroleum), while the others are created from more natural sources such as vegetables.
What’s the problem?
There is evidence that artificial food dyes can negatively impact children's attention and cause hyperactivity, even for those without ADHD. A 2007 study caused the UK to mandate warning labels on products containing specific dyes, stating they may negatively impact children’s attention and behavior.
Another study conducted by California’s Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 confirmed those same results.
Some context
After Robert F Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump for president in 2024, he tagged the line, “Make America Healthy Again.” The “MAHA” movement included a significant number of Americans skeptical of the safety of certain vaccines, over-processed foods, and fluoride in water, to name a few.
RFK Jr., who quickly became Trump’s pick for HHS, promised bold change to slow chronic diseases and to take an honest look at why Americans are generally more unhealthy than other countries.
Congress Quiet as President Trump Pursues Historic Levels of Executive Orders
What’s going on?
Congress has been quiet in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, passing just 5 bills, most of which are considered inconsequential. For example, three of the bills were joint resolutions that overturned certain federal agency rules implemented by the Biden Administration. The 4th bill was a resolution to fund government operations through the end of the fiscal year.
The 5th and only significant piece of legislation to become law was the Laken Riley Act. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain noncitizens who are 1) in the U.S. illegally and 2) who have been charged with, arrested for, or convicted of crimes such as theft, burglary, and shoplifting. It also gives state attorneys general the ability to sue the federal government for failing to enforce such detentions.
The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college student who was murdered by a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally and had been arrested multiple times but released.
Will the 119th Congress be different?
The early inactivity in the legislature continues a trend that played out over the past two years as well. The 118th Congress, which ran from Jan. 2023 - Jan. 2025, only passed ~150 laws, the lowest number since the 1980s. For perspective, from 1989 until 2023, each Congress (a two-year period) enacted more than 375 laws on average.
The executive branch fills the void
While Congress has been slow to pass legislation, President Trump has filled the absence with a historic level of executive orders (EOs). In his first 100 days in office, Trump issued more than 130 EOs, nearly 4 times the number implemented during the same period of his first term and compared to the recent Biden, Obama, and Bush Administrations.
Potential legislation
While little legislation has been passed to date, there are hundreds of bills that have been proposed and are still being debated. Below are two notable pieces of legislation that have a reasonable chance of advancing / becoming law:
No Tax on Tips Act: This bill would allow employees who receive tips to claim up to a $25,000 deduction on their federal taxes.
Voter-ID in Elections (SAVE) Act: This bill would require all voters to show a document with proof of citizenship in order to register and vote in federal elections.
Republican party commands its own fate
On paper, the Republican party commands its own fate as it relates to passing legislation, given its 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 220-213 advantage in the House. Bills require a simple majority vote in the House and Senate to be approved, although a 60-vote supermajority is typically required in the Senate to overcome filibusters and move legislation to a vote.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The News Memo to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.