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French President Emmanuel Macron’s office moved swiftly on Monday to defuse attention around a viral video showing his wife Brigitte pushing his face away as they deplaned in Vietnam for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour.

The short clip shows the aircraft door opening with Macron appearing in the doorway. Seconds later, both of Brigitte Macron’s hands reach from the side and presses against the president’s face in what looks like a sudden shove.

Macron appears momentarily surprised but quickly regains his composure and waves to the press outside.

As the couple descend the steps, Macron offers Brigitte his arm, which she does not take, opting instead to hold the railing.

The Élysée initially denied the incident on the plane, before later moving to downplay its significance.

It was a “moment of togetherness,” according to an Élysée source.

“No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source added, saying pro-Russian trolls were quick to spin the moment into controversy.

Macron has been at the forefront of efforts to agree a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The incident in Hanoi comes as Macron faces another swirl of online disinformation. Earlier this month the Élysée dismissed as “fake news” a viral claim – amplified by Kremlin officials – that the French president was using cocaine aboard a train to Kyiv alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The rumor, traced back to pro-Russian accounts, falsely claimed a crumpled tissue Macron picked up was a cocaine bag. The Élysée posted a rebuttal online with the caption: “This is a tissue. For blowing your nose… When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation makes a simple tissue look like drugs.”

The Kremlin’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova fueled the claim, suggesting the scene was part of a wider European dysfunction. French officials condemned the campaign as part of ongoing efforts by Moscow to weaken Western unity on Ukraine and manipulate peace discussions through false narratives and social media manipulation.

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Britain’s King Charles III will arrive in Canada on Monday for his first visit as its head of state, where he’ll carry out a highly-symbolic whistle-stop trip that will be seen by many as a show of support following increasingly frayed relations between Ottawa and Washington.

During his two-day visit, Charles, 76, will deliver a speech in Canada’s parliament and celebrate the country’s cultural heritage and diversity, according to Buckingham Palace. He will be accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla.

The monarch — who is still undergoing treatment for cancer — will attend the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, where he will deliver the ceremonial “Speech from the Throne” to the Senate chamber. The address marks the second time that the sovereign has opened parliament.

The parliamentary address is typically delivered by the governor general, the British monarch’s representative in Canada.

The timing of Charles’ visit is notable as it comes as US President Donald Trump persistently references his desire to make Canada the 51st state and touts false claims that the Canadian public likes the idea of being annexed by the United States. In fact, the proposal is overwhelmingly unpopular among Canadians as a whole.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who rose to power on a tide of anti-Trump sentiment in March, has repeatedly denounced the US president’s remarks. In his election victory speech, Carney warned that Canada would never yield to Trump’s relentless provocations.

Carney doubled down on that message last month during an exchange with Trump in the Oval Office.

“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney told Trump, adding: “(Canada) is not for sale. It won’t be for sale, ever.”

Ahead of Charles’ trip to Ottawa, Canada’s envoy to the United Kingdom, Ralph Goodale, told reporters the king will “reinforce” that same directive, according to Reuters.

“The prime minister (Carney) has made it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever,” Goodale told journalists last week.

“The king, as head of state, will reinforce the power and strength of that message,” Goodale said.

An ‘impactful’ visit

Charles will also need to walk a careful diplomatic tightrope as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks a stronger relationship with Trump over Ukraine and as he continues to pursue economic and trade guarantees.

Carney said last week that his compatriots “weren’t impressed” after Charles extended a second state invitation to the US president. Trump would be the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted twice by a British monarch.

“It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty,” Carney said.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are “mindful” of the gravity of their upcoming visit, Buckingham Palace said, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.

“The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the programme, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one,” PA reported, citing a palace spokesperson.

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“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” observed US President Donald Trump, reacting to the intensive Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine over the weekend.

In fact, the Kremlin leader seems pretty much unchanged, despite the urgings of the White House, merely continuing his policy of grinding war in Ukraine, in which aerial assaults have become an all-too-regular feature.

The real question is whether Trump has changed, or at least if his attitude toward Putin has started to shift amid what looks like an increasingly futile US effort to forge peace in Ukraine, something Trump bragged he could do – let’s not forget – in short order.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, certainly thinks a mental corner has been turned, telling reporters in Vietnam that Trump’s latest rebuke of his Russian counterpart as “absolutely CRAZY” means the US president “realizes” that Putin has “lied” on the war in Ukraine, adding that he hopes Trump’s words will “translate into action.”

But the record suggests otherwise.

This is the sixth time this term that Trump, who consistently says he has a strong relationship with Putin, has publicly expressed impatience or downright annoyance with the Kremlin boss.

Back in March, Trump revealed he was “pissed off” with Putin for refusing to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

In April, Trump demanded “Vladimir STOP,” after a Russian missile strike on Kyiv left a dozen people dead.

“Maybe he doesn’t really want to stop the war and is just tapping me along,” Trump mused later.

The Trump scoldings have been routinely accompanied by expressions of personal disappointment and threats of possible retaliation, like secondary tariffs on “all oil coming out of Russia,” or unidentified “further sanctions.”

Asked again, after the latest rebuke of Putin, whether he would now consider putting more sanctions on Russia, Trump replied: “Absolutely.”

So far, there has been no real sign that Trump is prepared to use the substantial economic leverage at his disposal to force the Kremlin to rethink its hardline stance.

Not so in the US Senate, where a cross-party bill has been introduced to make it more difficult for Russia to fund its war.

The bill, now backed by 81 senators, not only proposes more direct sanctions on Russia, but also secondary sanctions, such as a massive 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian energy.

But the measures, which would seriously impact an already fragile and oil-dependent Russian economy, are super-controversial as they would also punish China, India and the European Union, which are all still major Russian energy consumers.

It is, of course, possible that Trump could now throw his weight behind the bill, or perhaps a watered-down version of it. But that would be a huge change in direction, given his consistent reluctance to confront and punish the Kremlin so far.

More likely, the latest upsurge in violence in Ukraine may further convince an already frustrated US president that he is simply unable to bring the warring parties together any time soon.

And, amid all his anger and bluster about Putin, Trump may simply choose to walk away.

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Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with labyrinthitis Monday after suffering from vertigo, hospital officials said.

The 79-year-old leftist leader has already returned to the country’s presidential residence, where he is resting.

The Sirio-Libanes Hospital said in a statement that Lula underwent imaging and blood tests, and its results came within normal limits. Labyrinthitis is an inflammation of the labyrinth in the inner ear, which is responsible for hearing and balance.

The health scare adds to Lula’s recent medical worries, which are also part of his allies’ concerns ahead of his likely bid for reelection next year.

The most serious is a fall he had in the bathroom of the presidential residence in Brasília on Oct. 19.

Almost two months later, he was transferred to São Paulo for surgery after suffering headaches caused by new a bleeding in his head.

He was discharged Dec. 15.

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Hong Kong’s first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De.

The names of the cubs, affectionately known as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother,” were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year.

The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries.

The Chinese character “Jia,” from the female cub’s name “Jia Jia,” carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said.

The Chinese character “De,” from the male cub’s name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people.

Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas’ English names. He said “Jia” sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while “De De” sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers.

“It’s a very positive pair of names,” he said. “We have to be a bit creative here with the names.”

The twins’ birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the “panda economy.”

Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) last financial year.

The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons.

Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country’s giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy.

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Germany and other Ukrainian allies have lifted restrictions on Kyiv firing long-range missiles into Russia for the first time, the German chancellor said Monday, after days of Russia bombarding the capital and other regions with massive aerial attacks.

It marks a significant change in approach from key allies, which until now had largely resisted Ukraine’s requests to use Western-supplied weapons deep inside Russia.

“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a European forum in Berlin on Monday. “Neither from the British, nor from the French, nor from us. Nor by the Americans.”

“In other words, Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example,” he added.

The announcement comes in the wake of record-breaking drone and missile attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing international pressure to accept a ceasefire deal, including from US President Donald Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated by the slow progress.

Merz was appointed chancellor several weeks ago – and his declaration stands in stark contrast with his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who had repeatedly rejected Ukraine’s calls to lift the restrictions.

However, Merz did not say whether Germany would supply Ukraine with its powerful long-range Taurus missiles – something he had supported when Scholz was still in power, Reuters reported.

The United States lifted its restrictions last November, with former President Joe Biden authorizing Ukraine to use the US-supplied long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia.

But that, too, was a controversial decision that took months of discussion to reach. The US refused to even provide ATACMS to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, only delivering the missiles for the first time in April 2024. Some American officials worried about escalating the war, now in its fourth year, while others worried about the Pentagon’s dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Russia has openly threatened that any lifting of restrictions on long-range weapons would mean war with NATO. Putin has warned the West that Moscow would consider any assault supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack – and that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slammed Merz’s announcement on Monday, saying the lifting of restrictions was “rather dangerous,” according to Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS.

“If such decisions are made, they will absolutely go against our aspirations to reach a political settlement and the efforts being made within the framework of the settlement,” he said, according to TASS.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing several sources.

Russia’s attacks over the weekend killed more than two dozen people, including children, as Ukraine urged Western allies to continue pressuring Moscow to end the war.

“Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,” Zelensky said on Sunday.

Trump on Monday voiced increasing frustration with Putin, saying the Russian leader had “gone absolutely crazy” – while also criticizing Zelensky’s statements as causing “problems.”

Pressure is also building from within Trump’s Republican base, with a number of congressmen – including Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon – urging the president to impose stringent sanctions on Russia.

“It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin,” Bacon wrote on X. “The US and allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth.”

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India’s defense minister has approved a framework for building the country’s most advanced stealth fighter jet, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, amid a new arms race with Pakistan weeks after a military conflict between the neighbors.

Indian state-run Aeronautical Development Agency, which is executing the program, will shortly invite initial interest from defense firms for developing a prototype of the warplane, envisaged as a twin-engine 5th generation fighter, the ministry said.

The project is crucial for the Indian Air Force, whose squadrons of mainly Russian and ex-Soviet aircraft have fallen to 31 from an approved strength of 42 at a time when rival China is expanding its air force rapidly. Pakistan has one of China’s most advanced warplanes, the J-10, in its arsenal.

Militaries of nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan faced-off in four days of fighting this month, which saw use of fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery by both sides before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.

It was the first time both sides utilized drones at scale and the South Asian powers are now locked in a drones arms race, according to Reuters’ interviews with 15 people, including security officials, industry executives and analysts in the two countries.

India will partner with a domestic firm for the stealth fighter program, and companies can bid independently or as a joint venture, the defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the bids would be open for both private and state-owned firms.

In March, an Indian defense committee had recommended including the private sector in military aircraft manufacturing to shore up the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and reduce the burden on state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which makes most of India’s military aircraft.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has previously criticized Hindustan Aeronautics for slow delivery of light combat Tejas aircraft, a 4.5 generation fighter, which the firm blamed on slow delivery of engines from General Electric GE.N due to supply chain issues faced by the US firm.

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India’s financial capital and one of its largest cities has experienced its wettest May in more than a century, with the unusually early arrival of the monsoon season causing a ferocious weekend downpour that turned roads into rivers and flooded a newly inaugurated underground train station.

Mumbai, a city of more than 12 million, has recorded more than 400 millimeters of rainfall this month so far, according to data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), with much of the downpour arriving late last weekend.

The deluge caused chaos and delays across transport networks, including at the newly inaugurated Worli Metro Station.

Video published by local media outlets showed travelers wading knee-deep in flood water, water gushing down a station staircase, and water leaking heavily from the ceiling onto a train platform.

India’s $4 trillion economy is heavily dependent on the monsoon, which brings rains that farmers depend on to support the country’s agricultural sector, which employs nearly half of the country’s 1.4 billion people.

The rains, which usually arrive in June and last through September, are needed to grow crops, irrigate farmland and replenish India’s reservoirs. But this year’s early arrival has caused havoc across Mumbai, India’s finance capital and home to its vaunted Bollywood film industry, flooding roads and submerging cars.

Some experts say that global warming is increasing the variability of India’s monsoon rains faster than previously projected.

The onset of the southwest monsoon in Mumbai on May 26 is the earliest advancement over the city since 1950, Nair said.

Each year the monsoon causes chaos across Mumbai, particularly for commuters travelling on its hectic, overcrowded public transport system.

Last year in May, heavy rains caused a huge billboard to collapse, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Worli Metro station just earlier this month, part of his ambitious plan to modernize India’s aging transport network and transform the country’s infrastructure to achieve his goal of turning it into a developed nation by 2047.

Further rains are forecast for the region this week, the IMD said, potentially causing further flooding.

The southern state of Kerala over the weekend also saw an unusually early arrival of the monsoon, bringing some respite after experiencing days of an unrelenting heatwave.

Indian capital New Delhi last week also experienced widespread rain, lightning, and thunderstorms, causing a canopy at the city’s airport to collapse from waterlogging.

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President Donald Trump backed several House Republicans for reelection in Truth Social posts on Sunday, expressing support for Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Troy Downing of Montana, Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania, and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin.

Each lawmaker received an individual post from Trump, and each post declared that the given lawmaker has Trump’s endorsement.

Republicans currently hold the majority in the House, but the 2026 midterms will determine whether the GOP maintains control of the chamber during the tail end of Trump’s second term in office.

Trump’s show of support for Garbarino comes after the congressman failed to cast a vote on the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ that passed the House last week. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said that ‘Garbarino did not make it in time,’ but had fallen asleep.

‘I am proud to have been the leading voice on Long Island during negotiations on this key reconciliation bill. I fought to lift the cap on SALT and ensure hardworking Long Island families see the benefits of this important legislation. I was moments away from the House floor, to vote ‘yes,’ when the vote was closed,’ Garbarino said in a statement, according to reports. 

‘While I am frustrated that the vote was closed before I was able to cast my vote, I am proud of the work we accomplished to deliver huge results for Long Island. I congratulate President Trump on getting this bill passed and look forward to voting ‘yes’ when it comes back to the House floor from the Senate,’ Garbarino noted.

Fox News Digital reached out to Garbarino’s office on Monday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

‘Thank you, Mr. President, it’s an honor to serve NY-02,’ Garbarino said in a Sunday night post on X in response to the president’s endorsment.

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Despite assurances from Trump administration officials that farmers will not be impacted by its attempts to reduce environmental chemical exposure from foods, agricultural leaders have been expressing concern that the move will explode costs for farmers and more than double the cost of food. 

The administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, made up of many of President Donald Trump’s political appointees and closest policy advisors, released an assessment strategizing how they will tackle childhood chronic diseases, such as obesity and mental health challenges. Part of the report’s focus is on children’s chemical exposure from our foods, which the report says is linked to developmental issues and chronic diseases.   

Amid the report’s release, farm groups have expressed concern over the MAHA agenda’s focus on pesticides. They have said that if the administration starts clamping down on widely used pesticides, crop yields would decline, input costs would surge and food costs would more than double.

‘Farmers are already facing a host of challenges—uncertainty about their access to critical crop protection products shouldn’t be added to the list,’ said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. ‘Crop protection tools are not only safe, they are essential to food security, affordability, and the survival of family farms all across this country. Losing access to these critical inputs would be a devastating setback to American agriculture.’

Officials from the MAHA Commission sought to reassure farmers at an event releasing their assessment on childhood chronic diseases on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that ‘at the center’ of the MAHA agenda is ‘making American agriculture great again.’

‘We love our farmers, and we want to pay respect to our farmers. And we always will,’ President Trump added at the Thursday event from the White House. ‘We won the farmers by a lot in the election, and every election, all three elections – and we won by a lot. I will never forget that. And they are foremost in our thought.’

But some farmers are still expressing concern.

 

‘The Make America Healthy Again Report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products,’ the National Corn Grower’s Alliance (NCGA) said. ‘We call on the administration to respect the existing body of science on pesticides and, moving forward, to include America’s farmers in discussion as this process evolves.’ 

According to a statement put out by the Modern Ag Alliance, pesticides are ‘rigorously tested’ by the federal government, noting that in the case of glyphosate – mentioned multiple times in the MAHA report – it is one of the most thoroughly studied pesticides of its kind. 

They said that if the MAHA report drives future policy decisions it would hurt farmers and more than double the cost of food.

‘Without glyphosate—the most widely used weed-fighting tool by U.S. farmers—crop yields would decline, input costs would surge by 150%, and food inflation would more than double,’ the group said. ‘When Sri Lanka prohibited the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in 2021, crop yields fell by over 50%, forcing the government to import massive amounts of food just to meet basic needs. We should be focused on moving American agriculture—and the country—forward.’

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been a vocal opponent against the dangerous health impacts of under-regulated pesticides even before he was the MAHA Commission’s leader, said last week in a Senate hearing that ‘we cannot take any step that will put a single farmer in this country out of business.’

‘There’s a million farmers who rely on glyphosate,’ he said. ‘100% of corn in this country relies on glyphosate. We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model.’ 

The MAHA report reiterates the economic importance of protecting farmers, but it also lists glyphosate in an infographic of ‘Chemical Classes and Common Exposure Pathways’ and says research studies have shown it can cause a range of health effects. It also lists atrazine and other chemicals as dangerous to childhood health.   

MAHA Commission officials have said that part of the administration’s focus will be a return to the gold standard of science, but the NCGA said the focus on certain widely-used pesticides, such as atrazine and glyphosate, goes against ‘decades of extensive research and testing.’

‘If the administration’s goal is to bring more efficiency to government, then why is the secretary of Health and Human Services duplicating efforts by raising questions about pesticides that have been answered repeatedly through research and reviews by federal regulatory bodies?’ the group questioned.

Jennifer Galardi, a senior policy analyst focused on health and wellness issues at the Heritage Foundation, took a more balanced view of the MAHA commission’s strategy towards pesticides like glyphosate, noting that it appeared to thread the needle between supporting farmers and trying to ensure America’s food supply is safe and free of chemicals that could impact child health. 

‘The MAHA Commission Report seems to carefully examine competing issues in a very complex agricultural debate: the potential that crop protection tools as they’re referred to in the report may cause adverse health outcomes and the desire to protect the economic interests of farmers and the country,’ Galardi said. ‘However, everyone should agree that the companies that manufacture products such as glyphosate and GMO’s shouldn’t have undue influence over the research upon which sound policy is based. The American public should demand transparency around these decisions.’

Galardi posited that, due to the tension around the issue of pesticides, the MAHA Commission may decide to go after ‘low-hanging fruit,’ such as improving children’s diets and lack of physical activity, which, she said, are big drivers of obesity and metabolic dysfunction.

In response to this article, a USDA spokesperson sent the following statement from Secretary Rollins:

‘We must do more to improve the health outcomes of our kids and families, and President Trump knows agriculture is at the heart of the solution. America’s farmers and ranchers dedicate their lives to the noble cause of feeding their country and the world, and in doing so have created the safest and most abundant and affordable food supply in the world. We are working to make sure our kids and families are consuming the healthiest food we produce. I look forward to continuing to work with Secretary Kennedy and other members of the MAHA Commission to improve our nation’s health.’

White House spokesman Kush Desai, in a separate statement, echoed Rollins’ sentiment about the importance of agriculture and farmers when it comes to executing the MAHA mission. He also reiterated that the MAHA movement is grounded in ‘Gold Standard of Science.’

‘The guiding principle of President Trump’s movement to Make America Healthy Again is the Gold Standard of Science, and everyone from America’s farmers to everyday parents are critical for the success of this movement,’ Desai said. ‘The MAHA Commission’s report is a historic step by our government to, for the first time, comprehensively review the latest evidence and research of what we know – and what we don’t know – is driving the health crisis afflicting America’s children.’

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