By The Defender Staff
What to Know About Kyle Diamantas, the New Acting FDA Commissioner
The new acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who Donald Trump described as a “very talented person”, is a former corporate lawyer who previously defended a popular formula maker against claims of its product harming premature babies. Kyle Diamantas, who most recently served as the FDA deputy commissioner for food, will be taking over as acting FDA commissioner.
In his prior role, Diamantas oversaw FDA nutrition and food safety protocols. He also “set the strategic direction and operations for food policy in the US” while serving as a liaison between the FDA, the health and human services department, and the White House, according to the FDA’s website. Diamantas also represented the agency on dealings related to food with foreign governments and international organizations.
Diamantas’s ascension to the top role at the agency comes after his predecessor Marty Makary resigned on Tuesday. Makary’s 13-month tenure at the regulatory agency was marked by tumult and frustration from both sides of the aisle. He clashed with lawmakers on Capitol Hill about drug regulation decisions and a review of mifepristone, an abortion medication, which conservative members of Congress accused him of slow-walking.
Trump signed off on a plan to fire Makary earlier this month, after the president admonished the FDA chief for not approving fruit-flavored vapes, per reporting in the Wall Street Journal.
Hantavirus Will Be ‘Dead End’ Outbreak Soon: Ex-CDC Director
A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the hantavirus outbreak will hit a dead end within several days. “These hantaviruses have been around for a long time,” Dr. Robert Redfield told “Katie Pavlich Tonight” on Tuesday. “We have these hantaviruses that are in rodents in many of our cities.”
At least 18 people are under strict monitoring in the U.S. after disembarking the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of the current virus outbreak. The Andes strain of the virus killed three people aboard the ship, and dozens more passengers and crew remain on board, according to Spanish authorities.
“We have a lot of experience here, and I’m pretty confident that the CDC and public health community has got the right response,” Redfield added. “We may see a couple more cases because of secondary spread and exposure.”
COVID Vaccine Skeptic Targets Pfizer Officials After Trump Admin Pays Him for Biden’s Censorship
The Trump administration recently axed its predecessor’s social media censorship machine in a “big freaking” consent decree with Missouri, Louisiana and individual victims of suppression — notable for letting the plaintiffs recover attorney’s fees and explicitly acknowledging they are “prevailing parties” for the purpose of attorney’s fees.
But the feds didn’t wait for a court to approve attorney’s fees for the plaintiff in a similar, long-running case — this one challenging the Biden administration’s suppression of disfavored narratives via pressure on tech platforms, paying former New York Times drug industry reporter Alex Berenson $150,000 and acknowledging the government’s role in his censorship by Twitter.
Berenson gave Just the News a copy of his settlement with federal defendants – the U.S. government, President Trump and Office of the Surgeon General — which they reached before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could review Berenson’s appeal of a lower court’s September ruling for the feds.
It’s an about-face for the Trump administration, which had asked U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke for time to re-evaluate the government’s position after Trump’s return to office but then continued his predecessor’s argument to dismiss the independent journalist’s case. The settlement, which Berenson has yet to publicly post, explicitly preserves his claims against the remaining defendants in the lawsuit.
The EPA Wants to Shift Monitoring of Toxic Coal Ash to States
All across Georgia, on the banks of the Coosa, Chattahoochee, and Ocmulgee and other rivers, sit large lagoons filled with coal ash, the toxic residue left behind after coal is burned. These massive impoundments hold millions of tons of toxic stew, and most are unlined. As a result, heavy metals in the coal ash — such as arsenic and mercury — quietly leach into the ground and nearby water bodies.
In 2015, the Obama administration passed rules requiring utilities to clean up the ponds and implement monitoring requirements, transforming the Environmental Protection Agency into the chief regulator overseeing these sites. States were also given the opportunity to assume this regulatory role — as long as they met minimum federal requirements.
Georgia was among the first to do so. In 2019, the EPA approved the state’s authority to oversee coal ash management. But in their first official act — a “bellwether” for future decisions — regulators at the state’s Environmental Protection Division approved a permit to leave coal ash partly submerged in groundwater at one of Georgia Power’s plants. Despite outcry from communities and a rebuke by the EPA, the agency continues to hold its regulatory authority and has approved another 20 permits for coal ash ponds at roughly a dozen coal plants across the state.
Delayed Again: Provisions of EPA Trichlorethylene Ban
Safety+Health Magazine reported:
The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed until further notice the effective date of certain worker-related provisions of the agency’s final rule banning the use of trichloroethylene, as related litigation continues.
TCE is a toxic chemical used in dishwashing products and as a solvent in brake and parts cleaning, recycling, and disposal. In 2014, EPA determined that the substance may cause cancer, developmental and neurological effects, and toxicity to the liver.
Published in December 2024, the rule prohibits the manufacture, processing and distribution of TCE for consumer products and commercial uses. EPA, however, says ongoing litigation in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has spurred the court to issue a stay of the rule’s effective date.
FDA Clears First AI-based Early Warning System for Sepsis
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an artificial intelligence (AI)-based sepsis detection system for approval. The Targeted Real-Time Early Warning System, developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and commercialized by Bayesian Health, integrates electronic health records with advanced clinical AI to continuously monitor patients and flag sepsis up to 48 hours before a clinician suspects it.
A 2022 study of more than 764,000 patient encounters at five US hospitals found that when clinicians acted on the tool’s alerts, sepsis patients were 18% less likely to die in the hospital.
Sepsis occurs when the body’s immune system has an overwhelming reaction to an infection, causing a rapid chain of events leading to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. At least 1.7 million US adults and more than 18,000 US children develop sepsis each year, and at least 350,000 adults and more than 1,800 children who develop the condition die during their hospitalization.
The post What to Know About Kyle Diamantas, the New Acting FDA Commissioner + More appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.
IPAK-EDU is grateful to The Defender as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More
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