Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.
The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies' products.
His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S. plaintiffs' firm, described the case as the first of its kind.
The other companies being sued are Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle's U.S. arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra.
"There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods," Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the Consumer Brands Association, an industry group representing food and beverage makers, said in a statement.
"Attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities."
Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems. Food described by researchers as "ultra-processed" includes many packaged snack foods, sweets and soft drinks made with substances extracted from whole foods or synthesized artificially.
Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf has said that ultra-processed foods are likely addictive. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has criticized the food industry and the FDA for failing to regulate it.
Martinez's lawsuit alleges that the food companies have long known their products are harmful and deliberately engineered them to be as addictive as possible. It argues that they are drawing from the same "cigarette playbook" as tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, which for a time owned the companies that became Kraft Heinz and Mondelez.
The lawsuit includes claims for conspiracy, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair business practices. It seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
Eli Lilly (LLY) has added a new telehealth partner to expand access to single-dose vials of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound.
Ro is joining other telehealth platforms and Amazon Pharmacy (AMZN) in giving patients access to Lilly's top GLP-1 product by plugging in to the pharmaceutical giant's new direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect.
"Offering Zepbound single-dose vials — the most affordable branded incretin medicine by list price — through another platform to LillyDirect will help ensure broader availability of rigorously tested, FDA-approved and regulated obesity treatment,” said Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, in a statement.
The website for the company Ro is seen on a smartphone in New York on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison) ·ASSOCIATED PRESS
The announcement comes as Lilly overcomes drug shortages and looks for avenues to compete with compounded, or copycat, versions of its drug, also known by its key ingredient tirzepatide.
Ro CEO Zach Reitano told Yahoo Finance that he was impressed at the speed with which Lilly made the deal, just over 100 days since the single-dose vial option was launched.
Lilly launched the vials to bypass the production constrains of auto-injectors, which has lead to supply shortages that have only recently been resolved. The US Food and Drug Administration has declared the shortages over, but delayed a decision that would halt production of compounded GLP-1s that have been widely popular as patients struggle for access.
Patients turned to vials and injections even though they are a little harder to administer than the auto-injectors amid the shortages over the past two years. But Reitano said that many patients who are diabetic or who have had fertility journeys are familiar with needles and therefore able to adapt quickly.
The information page on Ro's site describing how to administer the shots is one of the top-visited sites for the company, Reitano said.
"They will watch the video over and over again because it is a new experience for many. But they do get the hang of it. I would say by week four of five, they are watching the video less and less," Reitano said.
Other telehealth platforms have continued to offer the compounded products of both Lilly and competitor Novo Nordisk's (NVO) drugs. Ro is not offering tirzepatide but is offering compounded semaglutide, the copycat of Novo's weight loss drug Wegovy, Reitano said.
Shares of health insurers such as UnitedHealth and CVS Health fell on Wednesday after a Wall Street Journal report said a bipartisan group of lawmakers were set to introduce legislation to break up pharmacy-benefit managers.
The Senate bill, sponsored by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley, will force companies that own health insurers or pharmacy-benefit managers to divest their businesses operating pharmacies within three years, the report said.
Pharmacy-benefit managers negotiate prescription drug prices between insurers, pharmacies and drugmakers, and directly reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs included under their agreed upon terms.
UnitedHealth shares fell 5%, while CVS Health dropped 4.3% and Cigna slipped 4.4%.
Peers Elevance, Humana and Centene fell between 1% and 3%.
Shares of insurers have come under pressure after Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's health insurance unit, was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel last week.
A federal congressman was assassinated late on Monday in Mexico's Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, the latest killing in an outbreak of political violence in the country.
The Veracruz attorney general's office confirmed the death of Benito Aguas, a member of the leftist government's ruling coalition in the 500-member lower house of Congress, in a post on social media.
Another man identified as Agustin Linares was also found dead at the scene, according to the attorney general's office, adding that an investigation into the suspected murders was ongoing.
Local media reported that Aguas was shot multiple times in the mountainous municipality of Zongolica in central Veracruz and died later from his wounds.
"We trust that the relevant investigations will be carried out so that justice prevails," lower house leader Ricardo Monreal wrote in a post on social media.
Aguas was a member of Mexico's Green Party, part of the ruling coalition led by the Morena Party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October.
Sheinbaum said she had instructed security officials to work with Veracruz's governor to ensure justice in the case.
"We are very sorry about what happened," she told a press conference.
Mexico has suffered a wave of violence with hundreds killed in intra-cartel warfare in western Sinaloa state, and frequent episodes of violence elsewhere in the country where gangs fight over lucrative smuggling routes and other criminal rackets.
Politicians have frequently been targeted, with dozens killed ahead of last June's general election.
The murder of a mayor in Mexico's southern Guerrero state days after he took office in October sparked outrage and doubts over Sheinbaum's security policies.
President Joe Biden is pushing U.S. national security agencies ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration to devise new strategies to tackle the risky, deepening ties among Russia, Iran, North Korea and China, according to U.S. officials.
In exchange for Iran's help with the Russian war effort in Ukraine, Moscow is giving its ally fighter aircraft, missile defense and space technology, Biden concluded in a national security memorandum issued on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving North Korea fuel, money and technology, and is recognizing it as a de facto nuclear state. Russia is conducting joint patrols with China in the Arctic, the administration said.
The classified document was described in general terms to reporters, but has not independently been reviewed by Reuters. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have disputed similar assessments in the past and accused Washington of destabilizing behavior.
Biden's new document orders various arms of the U.S. government to restructure groups currently organized by region to better focus on issues linking the four countries that span Europe and Asia.
The document's strategies and policy suggestions could be implemented - or rejected altogether - by President-elect Trump, a Republican who takes office on Jan. 20.
"When the new team sort of looks at it, I don't think they will see anything in it that is trying to box them in or tilt them toward one policy option or another," said one of the senior administration officials, who declined to be named.
Another official said they want to create "new options so that a new team and Congress can really hit the ground running."
The officials said the challenges ahead include ensuring that any sanctions and export controls imposed on the four countries are applied in a coordinated way that doesn't risk blowback from those countries and enabling the United States to better handle simultaneous crises involving several of the countries. North Korean troops are now serving in Russia, for instance.
"We're now in a world where our adversaries and our competitors are learning very quickly from one another," said one of the officials.
But there are limits to the countries' cooperation, another of the officials said, including Russia and Iran's failing to assist their ally Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president who was toppled over the weekend.
"This realignment sort of raises for China the question about what kind of future it wants to see and if it really wants to be all-in with this grouping," the person said
Two law enforcement officials told CNN that fingerprints found at the scene of the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO outside a Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel last week match those of 26-year-old Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione.
"This marks the first positive forensic match tying Mangione directly to the scene where Brian Thompson was gunned down just over a week ago outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel."
This new development comes as suspected killer Mangione fights extradition to New York City. He is currently held at the State Correctional Institution—Huntingdon, Pennsylvania—until proper paperwork by NY is filed.
Mangione's extradition challenge has kicked off the process requiring a warrant issued by the New York governor's office to allow him to be transported to the state, where he would then be arraigned at the criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan.
Mangione's lawyer, Thomas Dickey, told CNN earlier: "I haven't seen any evidence that they have the right guy."
On Tuesday night, we published what appears to be Mangione's manifesto...
Ahead of the extradition proceeding at the Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Mangione yelled to reporters: "It is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people."
NYC prosecutors charged Mangione with murder late Monday night. NY's criminal complaint against Mangione has yet to be made public.
The House of Representatives could vote this week on a compromise version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with up to $895.2 billion in defense discretionary spending.
This latest version of the NDAA, coming in at 1,813 pages, is a compromise between earlier House and Senate proposals for the annual defense bill.
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees released the new compromise bill on Dec. 7.
It allocates $849.9 billion for programs under the Department of Defense (DOD), another $33.3 billion for defense programs run through the Department of Energy and its Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and $512.4 million for defense-related activities.
The NDAA allows for up to $11.5 billion in discretionary spending adjustments, bringing the potential total to $895.2 billion.
Another $26.5 billion is tied to mandatory programs.
The new version includes increased funding to bolster U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region with $15.6 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a program focused on bolstering the U.S. military’s China-facing capabilities.
The spending allocation is $5.7 billion higher than the DOD requested.
Other provisions are aimed at reducing the risk of Chinese actors being able to access sensitive U.S. information.
Numerous measures bar the DOD from buying certain equipment or contracting for specific services from China.
The compromise NDAA also provides funding for seven new warships, including one Virginia-class submarine and supplemental funding for a second; an amphibious transport dock ship; and one medium landing ship.
It also authorizes funding for three new Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers; one more than the DOD requested.
The new NDAA fully funds the new Columbia-class submarine and B-21 Raider stealth bomber programs.
Included in the Act, is a 4.5 percent pay raise for all U.S. troops across the board, with enlisted ranks E-4 and below to receive a 14.5 percent pay boost.
Allowances are increased for both the cost of living and basic needs for servicemembers.
The bill also bolsters family support by funding childcare programs and new facilities, as well as expanding military spouse employment support.
“Servicemember quality of life concerns are a major cause of low morale and family stress, which are undermining recruitment, retention, and military readiness,” the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee said in a summary.
“The 2025 NDAA will improve the quality of life for servicemembers and their families.”
Culture War Riders
Cultural controversies have posed a hurdle for the Democrat-led Senate and the Republican-led House to reconcile their differing defense plans.
The version of the NDAA that the House passed in June included provisions to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions within the DOD and freeze new DEI hires.
Other measures in the House version of the bill stripped funds from abortion-related travel, barred funding for the teaching of “gender ideology” in DOD-funded schools, and barred defense spending on gender transition services.
The compromise NDAA version maintains the DEI hiring freeze but drops the House provisions to outright eliminate DEI programs and positions.
It also drops the efforts to block funding for abortion-related travel and eliminates money for materials promoting gender ideology in DOD-funded schools.
The compromise bill does bar the DOD’s health care program, Tricare, from covering gender-transitioning treatments for children under the age of 18.
Another House NDAA provision, that would bar the DOD from knowingly contracting with entities that engage in the boycotts of Israel, carried over into the compromise bill.
Republicans and Democrats both claimed some victories in the cultural battles.
“The FY25 NDAA builds upon the gains made in the FY24 NDAA to end the radical woke ideology being forced on our servicemen and women and restores the focus of our military on lethality,” the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee said in its assessment of the compromise bill.
By contrast, House Armed Services Democrats said they “were successful in blocking provisions that attacked DEI programs, the LGBT community, and women’s access to reproductive health care.”
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, still hopes to change the final bill, to eliminate the provision barring Tricare coverage for gender-transitioning treatment for minor children.
“Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” Smith said in a Dec. 8 press statement.
“This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills.”
Smith accused House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of using the provision to appeal to extreme elements within his party and urged Johnson to abandon the provision.
Provisions Not Adopted
The new bill drops hundreds of additional legislative provisions lawmakers in the House and Senate had sought.
The Senate Armed Services Committee had proposed S. Amdt. 3290 as an omnibus amendment encompassing 93 other changes and legislative provisions.
One would have required U.S. individuals and business entities to notify the Treasury Department of outbound investments in critical technology sectors in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
This notification provision would have covered a range of sensitive technology investments, including advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, hypersonic, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence systems.
The compromise NDAA proposal went forward without adopting many provisions laid out in amendment 3290, including the outbound investment notification measure.
The House had hoped to include a provision codifying a drone corps as a basic component of the U.S. Army, but that measure didn’t make it into the new bill.
Another provision in the House NDAA called on the DOD to prepare a report on plans for defeating Mexican drug cartels.
This provision did not make it into the compromise bill.
However, it directs the secretary of defense to prepare an assessment of the Mexican military’s capabilities for countering transnational criminal organizations, and of the DOD’s counternarcotics support for Mexican forces by April 1, 2025.
