White House releases new dietary guidelines encouraging Americans to limit highly processed foods
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on December 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration announced new federal dietary guidelines on Wednesday, encouraging Americans to limit highly processed foods and to reduce refined carbohydrates.
The guidelines also recommend eating whole foods like fruits and vegetables, incorporating healthy fats, prioritizing protein-rich meals and consuming full-fat dairy with no added sugars.
The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are updated every five years, come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made nutrition policy a cornerstone of his Make America Healthy Again agenda.
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(NEW YORK) — At least 177 new measles cases have been reported in the U.S., according to newly updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A total of 910 infections have been confirmed in 24 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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Airport health authorities wearing protective masks monitor passengers from international flights arriving at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, January 25, 2026. Suvarnabhumi Airport Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Several countries, including Thailand and Nepal, have increased their surveillance after cases of the deadly Nipah virus were detected in India.
So far, just two cases have been confirmed among 25-year-old nurses, a woman and a man, in West Bengal, according to the World Health Organization.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News earlier this week that Indian health authorities have deployed an outbreak response team and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in contact with local officials. The CDC said it is “monitoring” the situation.
Despite the virus’s high fatality rate, experts have said it’s very unlikely it will lead to a global emergency.
Here’s what you need to know about the virus, including signs and symptoms, how the virus is transmitted and what treatments are available.
What is Nipah virus?
Nipah virus is a type of zoonotic disease, meaning it’s primarily found in animals and can spread between animals and people.
It was first discovered in 1999 after a disease affected both pigs and people in Malaysia and Singapore, according to the CDC.
The virus is most often spread by fruit bats, and can spread through direct or indirect contact.
The virus can also spread from person to person by being in close contact or coming into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms typically occur between four and 14 days after exposure. The most common symptom is fever followed by headache, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing and vomiting.
Diagnosing the virus in the early stages is often difficult because the symptoms resemble many other illnesses, the CDC has said.
The virus can lead to severe symptoms, including disorientation, drowsiness, seizures or encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. These can progress to a coma within 24 to 48 hours, according to the CDC.
Deaths range anywhere between 40% and 75% among all cases, the federal health agency said. Some permanent changes among survivors have been noted, including persistent convulsions.
What are the treatments available?
Currently there are no specific treatments available for Nipah virus other than managing symptoms with supportive care, including rest and fluids.
Experts said there are treatments currently under development. One is a monoclonal antibody, a treatment that uses immune system proteins manufactured in a lab. They mimic the antibodies the body naturally creates when fighting the virus.
Dr. Diana Finkel, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious disease at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, previously told ABC News that the drug has already completed phase I clinical trials and is currently being used on a compassionate basis.
Researchers are also studying the potential benefit of remdesivir — the intravenous medication used to treat COVID-19 — which has been shown to work well in nonhuman primates with Nipah virus.
What is the likelihood of Nipah virus spreading?
Experts said that while anything is possible, it’s very unlikely that cases in India will lead to global spread.
“The world is small, but the likelihood that somebody’s infected, or an infected fruit bat with Nipah virus would be here, right now, is very unlikely,” Finkel previously told ABC News.
She said when people are exposed in health care settings, it’s often because proper standard precautions were not followed, such as not wearing gloves or masks.
Experts have said Nipah virus cases are also a reminder of the potentially devastating effects of habitat destruction and climate change, possibly leading to more interaction between infected animals and humans.
“You have to think about why are fruit bats that harbor this Nipah virus, why are they coming into contact with people?” Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, director of the University of Washington Center for One Health Research, previously told ABC News. “What is changing in terms of the movement of the bat populations? Are they leaving [a] habitat where there were not very many people? Are they now spending more time close to people?”
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
Striking Kaiser Permanente workers hold signs as they march in front of the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on October 14, 2025 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Tens of thousands of nurses and health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities across California and Hawaii went on strike on Monday morning.
More than 31,000 workers across at least two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics run by the non-profit health care system walked off the job at 7 a.m. PT, marking the largest strike of health care professionals so far this year.
The striking workers, who are members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), said they are fighting for safe staffing levels and fair wages and compensation.
UNAC/UHCP said many Kaiser facilities are currently experiencing staffing shortages, which is leading to delays in care and a risk of errors, as well as burnout and turnover.
The union also states that Kaiser is seeking wage cuts and a reduction in benefits and retirement, including active medical coverage and pension benefits.
“Kaiser’s own communications to employees reveal exactly why we are striking,” Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said in a statement. “Instead of addressing unsafe staffing and patient care concerns, Kaiser is issuing messages that pressure workers not to strike, exaggerate the risks of participation, and encourage employees to report one another. That is intimidation.”
The union argues that Kaiser is engaging in unfair labor practices by stalling negotiations and attempting to bypass “the established national bargaining process.”
Both sides have been negotiation since May but are currently in a stalemate. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Kaiser of walking away from the bargaining table in December.
Additionally, UNAC/UHCP released a report earlier this month, accusing Kaiser of earning a net income and surplus above what is traditional for a non-profit health care system.
The report also criticized Kaiser for allegedly investing in private prisons and ICE detention centers, which the union claims raises “urgent ethical questions.”
“Kaiser isn’t strapped for resources. It’s making choices — and those choices are hurting people. It’s time for accountability,” Morales said in a statement at the time.
In a statement, Kaiser referred to the strike as “unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the table” and said the strike has occurred despite a recent agreement to return to local bargaining.
Kaiser said that as health care costs rise, and many Americans risk losing access to health insurance, it is committed to delivering fair and competitive pay for its staff while protecting affordability for patients.
“Despite the union’s claims, this strike is about wages,” the statement read, in part. “The strike is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients — the very people we areall here to serve.”
The health care system said that all of its hospitals and nearly all of its medical offices will remain open during the strike and that contingency plans have been put in place to ease disruptions.
Kaiser said that some in-person appointments may need to be virtual instead and some appointments, elective surgeries and procedures may need to be rescheduled.
This is not the first time Kaiser workers have gone on strike. In October, thousands of workers participated in a five-day strike across California and Hawaii to demand safer staffing and fair compensation.
Kaiser’s strike comes amid the largest nursing strike in New York City history with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job at five hospitals across the city.
The strike, which began two weeks ago, has shown some signs of progress with the New York State Nurses Association — the union representing the workers — saying at least two hospitals have agreed on maintaining health benefits for nurses.
However, nurses have indicated that the strike will continue until at least tentative contract agreements are reached.
