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RFK Jr launches $134M+ national program to study microplastics in the human body, drinking water
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday announced a massive joint effort to measure, understand and remove microplastics and pharmaceuticals from the nation’s water supply and the human body.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin detailed the urgency of the growing health crisis during a press event, citing dramatic increases in plastic concentrations in human organs.
“This is not a rare exposure, this is baseline,” Kennedy warned, noting that researchers have found plastic particles in human blood, lung tissue, livers, kidneys and in every single sample of tested human placentas. “We are not dealing with a distant or theoretical risk. We are dealing with a measurable and growing presence inside the human body. And the signal is getting stronger.”
He added that the concentration of plastics in the human brain has spiked by 50% since 2016, amounting to roughly “a spoonful of plastic in every human brain.”
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Kennedy also highlighted a clinical study revealing that patients with microplastics detected in their arterial plaque face a 450% higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death within three years.
“We do not ignore signals like that,” he said. “We investigate.”
To tackle the medical crisis, the administration is launching the STOMP (Systematic Targeting of Microplastics) initiative, a national program valued between $134 million and $144 million, which aims to precisely measure microplastics in the body, track how they cause biological harm and safely remove them.
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Dr. Alicia Jackson, who leads the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, said the program will develop a clinical test for microplastics that takes less than 15 minutes and costs less than $50 so that every American can have access.
“STOMP will do, in five years, what the entire field has been unable to do for decades,” Jackson said. “… This field has been working in the dark long enough and STOMP turns on the lights.”
On the environmental front, Zeldin announced the release of the draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate ListSixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6), which includes 75 chemicals, four chemical groups — microplastics, pharmaceuticals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), along with disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and nine microbes.
“For too long, Americans have been ignored as they sound the alarm about plastics in their drinking water. That ends today,” Zeldin said. “By placing microplastics on the Contaminant Candidate List, for the first time ever, [the] EPA will follow the science, pursue answers and will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of Americans.”
Additionally, the EPA released human health benchmarks for nearly 400 pharmaceuticals known to, or have the potential to, occur in drinking water — including antibiotics, antidepressants and hormones.
While the benchmarks are not enforceable regulations, Zeldin described them as a “vital resource” to empower local decision-makers to evaluate risks and protect their communities.
Medical experts at the conference stressed the staggering economic toll of plastic exposure.
“Just from the few chemicals that we know about, the United States health care cost contribution of plastic exposure right now is $250 billion,” said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician and director at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “1.2% of our gross domestic product goes out the window as a result of toxic exposures that derive from plastic. … We’re probably underestimating the scope of the problem.”
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Dana White ‘wasn’t going to see 65’ before longevity expert intervened with strict new regimen
Longevity expert Gary Brecka said his work with Dana White led to startling blood test results, revealing that the UFC CEO may have only had a few years left to live based on his prior lifestyle.
Brecka, who spent 20 years as a mortality-modeling expert in the insurance industry, said on “Hang Out With Sean Hannity” that people in White’s inner circle “quietly” asked him to get ahold of the UFC president, reporting that he was falling asleep during important meetings.
The biohacker said he “tricked” White by telling the UFC boss he needed blood work and a genetic test to predict his life expectancy due to worries over White’s symptoms, while in reality, existing medical records and demographic data could have sufficed.
He said White was experiencing sleep apnea, low blood oxygen levels, aches and pains, among other ailments. But White’s blood test provided cause for concern even before the results were in.
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“His blood coagulated at room temperature. As a percentage, there was more fat in his blood than blood,” said Brecka, due to “lethal” levels of triglycerides.
After sending the blood off to the lab for testing, he got a call at 1 a.m. — a move usually reserved for emergencies. The results were dire, he said.
Given the life-threatening alert, Brecka said he immediately booked a flight to White and was on the ground in Las Vegas by 9 a.m.
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White was floored when Brecka rattled off a list of his symptoms based solely on his test results. It turned out the UFC president had “hyper-homocystinemia,” Brecka said, or the inability to break down an amino acid called homocysteine.
Homocysteine at high levels can irritate the interior lining of the arteries, causing them to “clamp down,” Brecka explained.
“And if you make the pipe smaller in a fixed system, the pressure goes up. So his [blood] pressure wasn’t being driven up because there was a malfunction with the heart. It was being driven because the pipes were too small.”
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Because the vascular system contracted, White began experiencing hypertension. “They start to medicate the heart for a crime it’s not committing,” since the problem actually lay in his arteries, Brecka said.
He put White on a strict keto diet and blood pressure monitoring regimen.
“He wasn’t going to see 65,” said Brecka, based on his preliminary evaluation of White’s lab results.
Ultimately, he was able to extend White’s predicted lifespan from his initial assessment of 10.4 years.
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ACTING LABOR SECRETARY SONDERLING: A fast-track way to get a job without college debt
Hollywood actor Patrick Ball recently made headlines for calling his $80,000 in student loan debt a “huge burden.” In an interview with Cultured magazine, Ball said he believes he would have died in debt if not for landing a starring role in the award-winning drama “The Pitt.”
Ball lucked out, but for most Americans, there’s no such happy ending. More than 42 million Americans have student loans, bringing the total outstanding federal-student-loan debt to over $1.6 trillion. The average borrower has an outstanding balance of around $40,000.
Pursuing a college degree makes sense for many individuals, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Too many students graduate to discover a drought of job prospects in their field while simultaneously struggling to afford student-loan payments. Even if they manage to land a job, the average annual salary of a recent college graduate is barely enough to sustain one person, let alone a family. The result is paralyzing debt and a stalled future.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the Department of Labor (DOL) is working hard to create alternative pathways for Americans seeking secure, family-supporting, in-demand careers. As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, we’re spotlighting programs that offer hands-on training, strong mentorship opportunities, and credentials that benefit workers and employers alike.
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Last year, Trump issued an executive order titled “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future” and set a goal of securing more than 1 million active apprentices. To achieve this mission, DOL partnered with the Departments of Commerce and Education to develop America’s Talent Strategy.
For too long, there’s been a mismatch between the training workers receive and the skills that employers seek. America’s Talent Strategy aims to change that by meeting the needs of employers and preparing more Americans to access high-wage careers. We’re realigning federal workforce programs with investments in private sector training and evolving skill demands as well as partnering with American businesses who are dedicated to employing new apprentices as key pieces of their talent pipelines.
That’s not all. The Labor Department has committed $3,500 incentive payments to partner employers for every registered apprentice hired. Under Trump’s leadership, we’re also streamlining the process for potential partner companies and slashing the red tape that discourages organizations from creating similar programs.
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Additionally, we’re breaking down the silos that have hampered how America prepares its workforce. Last year, DOL signed a historic partnership agreement with the Department of Education. Under this arrangement, DOL can support and influence a broader set of workforce programs previously spread across federal agencies. That means cutting redundant efforts, shrinking bloated government bureaucracy and giving more flexibility to states.
All of this has empowered the Labor Department to add more than 386,000 apprentices and more than 3,300 new Registered Apprenticeship programs since Trump took office last January. Apprentices enjoy an “earn while you learn” model, and those who complete their program can land an average starting salary of $86,000 per year — $20,000 more than that of recent college graduates.
These are significant steps toward closing our nation’s skills gap of approximately 700,000 jobs. But it’s also significant because of the lives we’re impacting.
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Brent Davis is one such example. For years, Brent struggled to provide for his family — until a friend urged him to apply to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Apprenticeship Program in Virginia. Brent was accepted as a boilermaker apprentice, eventually becoming a journeyman in the shipyard and then an official Shop 41 Boilermaker. Brent graduated with glowing marks across the board for his workmanship. Thanks to his hard work and dedication, he was nominated for the Department of Labor and Industry’s Division of Registered Apprenticeship Outstanding Apprentice of the Year.
Shane Siler of Wyoming has a similar story. For 15 years, Shane worked in the food industry and dabbled in drilling and construction. But after he became a single father, he realized he needed to pursue a more stable and promising career path. Shane was attracted to the trades because they offered the opportunity to earn a full-time wage while still attending school. He joined a Registered Apprenticeship Program, and today he works as an Industrial and Heavy Commercial Electrician. The Registered Apprenticeship Program has empowered Shane to build a better life for himself and his son.
These stories are exactly what National Apprenticeship Week is all about. Our task is to equip Americans to find their place in an evolving economy so that testimonials like Brent and Shane’s are the standard — not the exception. Registered Apprenticeships have the power to strengthen our supply chains, fill skill gaps in industries critical to our national security, and ensure America stays on the cutting edge of innovation and industry.
Most of all, they empower hardworking Americans to achieve the American Dream. That’s something truly worth celebrating.
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