San Francisco sues 10 major food manufacturers over ultra-processed foods

 The city of San Francisco is suing 10 major food manufacturers — including Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola — accusing them of knowingly fueling a public health crisis with ultra-processed foods.

City Attorney David Chiu filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday, arguing that ultra-processed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer.

"They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body," Chiu said in a news release. "These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused."

The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo, Post Holdings, Mondelez International, General Mills, Nestle USA, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated and ConAgra Brands.

The lawsuit alleges the companies used tactics similar to the tobacco industry, designing and marketing products to addict consumers. It accuses the manufacturers of violating California laws on public nuisance and deceptive marketing.

As ultra-processed foods have spread, rates of obesity, cancer and diabetes have climbed, the suit claims. Chiu’s office notes that heart disease and diabetes — both linked to ultra-processed foods — are among San Francisco’s leading causes of death, with higher rates in minority and low-income communities.

FOX Business reached out to all 10 companies named in the lawsuit but did not immediately hear back.

Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the Consumer Brands Association, which represents many of the companies, said in a statement obtained by Fox Business that there "is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultraprocessed foods and 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."

San Francisco’s lawsuit cites multiple scientific studies linking ultra-processed foods to harmful health effects.

"Mounting research now links these products to serious diseases — including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages," University of California, San Francisco, professor Kim Newell-Green said in the news release.

A May report from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump administration had identified ultra-processed foods as a driver of chronic illness in American children.

In August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the majority of Americans get more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, with hamburgers and sandwiches, sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened beverages being among the top sources.

San Francisco’s case is the first municipal lawsuit claiming food companies knowingly marketed addictive and harmful ultra-processed foods.

The city seeks restitution and civil penalties to offset healthcare costs, along with a court order barring deceptive marketing and forcing the companies to change their practices.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/san-francisco-sues-10-major-food-manufacturers-over-ultraprocessed-foods

'AP: Chances Dwindling for Renewal of ACA Subsidies, Risking Premium Spikes for Millions'

 Hopes for an extension of healthcare subsidies were diminishing in Congress this week as Republicans and Democrats largely abandoned the idea of bipartisan talks on the issue, increasing the odds that millions of Americans could see sharp premium spikes starting Jan. 1.

Democrats who agreed earlier this month to reopen the government in exchange for a December healthcare vote were hoping they could work with Republicans to extend the COVID-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that help many Americans pay for their health coverage. But lawmakers in both parties have spent most of the time since talking amongst themselves instead, while rehashing longstanding partisan arguments over the law in public.

"I don't think at this point we have a clear path forward, I don't think the Democrats have a clear path forward," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday after Republicans met and discussed different proposals to overhaul the law.

The impasse means the Senate vote, expected next week, could be a party-line messaging exercise with no real chance of passage. Under the deal struck to end the shutdown, Democrats can determine the legislation that comes up for a vote. But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) has indicated they are leaning toward a vote on a straight extension of the subsidies with no new limits or tweaks to the law, which Republicans have already rejected.

"So far the Republicans are in total disarray and have no plan," Schumer said Tuesday. "We have a plan."

Democrats say they are willing to negotiate on the issue, and some have said they would be open to new limits on the subsidies. But they argue that two main issues are holding up talks: the lack of input from President Trump, and Republicans' insistence that abortion funding be part of the discussion.

"Our Republican colleagues aren't going to engage with us" unless Trump weighs in, said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). "That's the paralysis here."

Abortion Issue Holds Up Compromise

Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, was part of the group that struck a deal to end the shutdown. He says there have been some informal bipartisan discussions since then, but says they stalled as Republicans insisted on stricter abortion restrictions on ACA plans.

"They have set up a red line that is also a red line for the Democrats," King said of Republicans. "So they're going to own these increases."

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who has said he wants to see the tax credits extended, said the issue "should not be a deal-killer" since a ban on federal funding for abortions is already in the law.

Democrats say current law should be sufficient. While many states ban abortion coverage from all plans in the ACA marketplaces, others allow or require abortion coverage that isn't paid for with federal funding.

Republicans Weigh Different Plans

Beyond the abortion issue, many Republicans have said for years that they want to see the ACA scrapped or overhauled. But there is still little consensus in the GOP about whether to do that or how.

Republican senators have discussed several competing proposals in recent weeks. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, and Florida Sen. Rick Scott have suggested creating different types of health savings accounts that would change the way people buy insurance -- an idea that Trump has endorsed in social media posts without much detail. Other senators have suggested extending the subsidies with new limits on income.

Thune said Tuesday that "we will see where the Republicans come down, but that conversation continues."

Republicans want to work on a constructive solution, he said, "but that hasn't landed yet."

In the House lawmakers were also discussing different ideas. But there was no indication that any of them could be ready by the end of the year or generate enough bipartisan support.

"Healthcare is a very complicated issue," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), said Tuesday, while insisting that Republicans were still "pulling ideas together."

Trump Gives Little Guidance

Lawmakers in both parties have said it will be hard to move forward without Trump's support for a plan. But the president has yet to formally endorse any legislation.

Last week, the White House circulated a proposal to extend the subsidies with some limits, like new income caps and a requirement that all recipients pay some sort of premium. The proposal would also have allowed those in lower-tier plans, such as the bronze-level or catastrophic plans, to put money into health savings accounts.

But the proposal was never released.

Asked last week whether he wants to extend the subsidies, Trump appeared to refer to the leaked plan, saying that "somebody said I wanted to extend it for 2 years. ... I'd rather not extend them at all."

Still, he acknowledged that some sort of extension may be "necessary."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/washington-watch/118806

HHS Officially Rescinds Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule

 The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a Biden-era rule that required a minimum number of healthcare staff in nursing homes.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Tuesday in a press release it is taking the action "after determining the final rule imposed by the Biden administration disproportionately burdened facilities, especially those serving rural and tribal communities, and jeopardized [patients'] access to care."

"Today's decision to repeal these provisions, in alignment with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, underscores HHS's commitment to practical, sustainable approaches to improving nursing home care, and allows for further opportunity for engagement with community and tribal stakeholders," the release stated.

"Safe, high-quality care is essential, but rigid, one-size-fits-all mandates fail patients," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the release. "This administration will safeguard access to care by removing federal barriers -- not by imposing requirements that limit patient choice."

Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said in the release that "At CMS, our mission is not only to improve outcomes, but to ensure those outcomes are achievable for all communities. We cannot meet that goal by ignoring the daily realities facing rural and underserved populations. This repeal is a step toward smarter, more practical solutions that truly work for the American people."

The rule, enacted in May 2024 by the Biden administration, required nursing homes that participate in federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to meet a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident day (HPRD), which must include at least 0.55 HPRD of direct registered nurse (RN) care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care, according to a CMS fact sheet. Facilities could use any combination of nurse staff (RNs, licensed practical nurses [LPNs] and licensed vocational nurses, or nurse aides) to account for the additional 0.48 HPRD needed to comply with the total nurse staffing standard, the agency said. The rule also required nursing homes to have an RN on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide skilled nursing care.

CMS gave nursing homes 2 years to comply with some parts of the rule and 3 years for other parts; rural facilities were given extra time. However, Republicans and nursing home organizations pushed back on the rule, saying it would force some nursing homes to close. Two large nursing home provider organizations sued over the regulations; a federal court judge ruled in their favor and struck down several of the rule's key provisions. In addition, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act delayed implementation of the rule for 10 years. Tuesday's announcement was not a surprise, because HHS in August had sent the proposed rescission to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

Nursing home and hospital groups praised the rule's rescission. "The CMS staffing mandate repeal is a much-needed recognition of the very real barriers that our nursing home members navigate in recruiting and retaining staff," Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit aging services providers, said in a statement. "We will continue to engage with federal policymakers and advocate for meaningful investments in the long-term care workforce and the advancement of smart policies to realize the necessary numbers of trained and qualified nurse aides, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other [nursing home] caregivers."

The American Hospital Association (AHA) also applauded the move. "The AHA applauds CMS's repeal of the misguided minimum staffing requirements for long-term care facilities," Stacey Hughes, the AHA's executive vice president for government relations and public policy, said in a statement. "The AHA has repeatedly raised concerns that the requirements could exacerbate workforce shortages, lead to facility closures, and jeopardize access to care, especially in rural and underserved communities that often do not have the workforce levels to support these requirements."

But nursing home consumer groups felt otherwise. "We were very disappointed by CMS's announcement today," Sam Brooks, director of public policy for the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, a patient advocacy group, wrote in an email to MedPage Today. "Even though it claimed the rescission was in part due to congressional and judicial developments, it repeated the often-debunked lines from the nursing home industry that there are not enough staff and that rural facilities will be harmed. Both of these claims are not true."

"The rule had numerous opportunities for exceptions, meaning that nursing homes with legitimate hiring challenges would be exempted from compliance," he continued. "Further, there was no evidence rural facilities would have a harder time complying [than] non-rural facilities.... The real problem is that nursing homes treat workers poorly and cannot retain them."

"Most disheartening was that CMS offered no plan to address the staffing crisis in nursing homes," Brooks added. "Instead, it is returning to the status quo, which results ... in residents suffering and dying because nursing homes are not staffed adequately."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/geriatrics/generalgeriatrics/118802

AUPH Sees Downgrade by Leerink Partners as Price Target is Raised

 On December 3, 2025, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH), a biopharmaceutical company, experienced a crucial update from analyst Joseph Schwartz of Leerink Partners. The firm downgraded its rating on AUPH stock from "Outperform" to "Market Perform". Despite the downgrade, the price target for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has been raised from $15.00 to $16.00, marking a 6.67% increase.

https://www.gurufocus.com/news/3231826/auph-sees-downgrade-by-leerink-partners-as-price-target-is-raised-auph-stock-news

Intel to keep networking and communications unit

 Intel said on Wednesday it has ​opted to keep its ‌networking and communications unit in ‌the company following a review of strategic options for the unit.

"Keeping (the networking and communications ⁠unit) in-house ‌enables tighter integration between silicon, software and ‍systems, strengthening customer offerings across AI, data center, and edge," ​the company said in ‌a statement.

Intel had explored plans to spin out the networking group, or NEX, earlier this year, Reuters reported. ⁠Intel was looking ​at the potential ​spin-out as part of CEO Lip-Bu Tan's plans ‍to shave ⁠off non-core businesses.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-keep-networking-communications-unit-212334275.html

Nvidia CEO: We can't degrade chips we sell to China

 Nvidia Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang commented on Wednesday that the company cannot "degrade" semiconductors it sells to China.

Nonetheless, speaking to reporters at Capitol Hill after meeting with United States President Donald Trump, Huang mentioned that Nvidia supports export controls and wants to make sure that the "American companies have the best, the first, and the most."

He went on to say that he is uncertain whether or not Beijing would accept Nvidia's H200 chips.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Nvidia-CEO:-We-can't-degrade-chips-we-sell-to-China/65291890

'FT: Bond investors said to have warned Treasury on Hassett Fed pick'

 Bond investors have privately warned the United States Treasury that appointing National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett as the next Federal Reserve chair could jeopardize the central bank's independence, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Market participants expressed concern that Hassett might support aggressive rate cuts favored by US President Donald Trump.

According to the report, Treasury officials conducted a series of consultations in November with major Wall Street banks, asset managers, and members of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee to gauge reactions to potential candidates, according to the people familiar with the matter.

The discussions come as Trump prepares to nominate a successor to Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. Trump recently described Hassett as a "potential" pick.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Investors-said-to-have-warned-Treasury-on-Hassett-Fed-pick/65291802