Kennedy commission child health report ignores gun violence, the leading cause of child death

The Make America Healthy Again Commission, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has released its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a 20-page report the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services described as a “sweeping plan” to “reverse the failed policies that fueled America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic.”

In a meeting livestreamed Tuesday from the department’s headquarters, MAHA commission members ticked through ways the U.S. will tackle poor diet, chemical exposures, excess prescription medications and the toxic combination of too much stress and too little physical activity — the four primary threats to child health the commission identified in May.

Absent from the document was any mention of guns, the leading cause of death for people under the age of 18. Firearms have been the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17 every year since 2022.

More than 2,500 kids died from gunshot wounds in 2022, the last year for which complete data is available, and guns were responsible for 30% of all deaths of 15- to 17-year-olds, the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions found after analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

—Los Angeles Times

Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book filled with sexual references

One friend called him the “Degenerate One.” Another referred to his deviant sexual obsessions, writing an anecdote about forcing women to undress at knifepoint while they were trapped on a boat.

The pages of Jeffrey Epstein’s “birthday book” — made public on Monday — offers a dark and troubling window into the sex trafficker’s teenage exploits as well as his close adult friendships with wealthy and powerful people in his life in 2003.

Among those who contributed to the book: President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton, a former Democratic U.S. senator, a current UK ambassador to the U.S., a former Microsoft executive, and influential people in science, academics and Wall Street.

The 238-page book was compiled and given to Epstein as a gift for his 50th birthday by his then girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Its pages feature explicit sexual innuendos and photographs, including a bawdy message and drawing of a woman purportedly contributed by Trump.

—Miami Herald

Gavin Newsom: Trump is threat to CA’s ‘economic, social foundation’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a State of the State address to the Legislature, Gov. Gavin Newsom characterized California as the bulwark against a White House that has consolidated executive power, strong-armed the press and universities, and won a court victory this week allowing immigration officials to profile people based on their perceived ethnicity.

“As I write to you, California is menaced by a federal administration that dismantles public services, punishes allies across the globe, and sweeps the rule of law into the gutter,” the governor wrote in a missive to lawmakers.

“They have thrown away decades of progress on clean air and water, sent the U.S. military into the streets of our cities, and used extortion in an attempt to bully our businesses and world-class public institutions. But California, this uniquely blessed state, is standing up.”

After initially trying to take a friendly approach to President Donald Trump, Newsom has burnished his image in recent months as a resistance leader. He has tried to broker trade relationships with allies abroad to circumvent Trump’s tariffs and compared the president’s various “deals” to stake claims in businesses to bribery.

—The Sacramento Bee

Nepalese politicians' residences set ablaze as prime minister resigns

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal was rocked by further violent protests on Tuesday, with the houses and offices of several prominent politicians set on fire and the country's prime minister resigning following a wave of demonstrations that has left at least 19 people dead.

Unverified videos showed blazes at the residence and office of President Ram Chandra Paudel, over the parliament in Kathmandu, and affecting several police stations and party headquarters.

KP Sharma Oli earlier submitted his resignation letter as prime minister amid ongoing protests over a controversial ban on social media, which was lifted on Monday. His predecessor Jhalanath Khanal's house was also set alight, with the Kharbub news platform reporting that Khanal's wife died in the blaze.

The unrest in Kathmandu occurred despite a curfew in several neighborhoods. The army leadership, government representatives and police have called on citizens of the Himalayan nation to remain calm.

—dpa