As we’ve previously noted, the shift toward “better-for-you” consumption is well underway, whether fueled by the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement or the increasing adoption of miracle weight-loss drugs suppressing appetites. Either way, the inflection point for U.S. restaurants has arrived.

Redburn Atlantic analyst Edward Lewis became the first in recent memory to downgrade McDonald’s, cutting the stock from “Buy” to “Sell” on the premise that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs will suppress consumer appetites.

Lewis now stands alone among the 41 analysts tracked by Bloomberg with a bearish stance on McDonald’s. He set a Street-low price target of $260, well below the $332 average and the stock’s most recent close of $304.78.

Key reasons for the downgrade:

• GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are curbing appetites and pose a long-term structural threat to the fast-food industry.

• Lewis argues these drugs will trigger broad behavioral shifts, impacting group dining and reducing habitual demand, especially among lower-income consumers.

• He warns that what looks like a “1% drag” today could compound into a 10%+ hit over time.

Additional concerns:

• U.S. consumers are fatigued after years of menu price inflation.

• Rising tariffs are squeezing brands with limited pricing power.

Also noted: 

• Initiated coverage on Domino’s Pizza with a sell rating.

• Rated Chipotle as neutral.

• Upgraded Yum Brands to buy, citing a more reasonable valuation, conservative expectations, and strong international exposure.

Separately, last month, we reported that Goldman analysts Leah Jordan and Eli Thompson informed clients that early indications suggest consumers are shifting and seeking “better-for-you options” at the supermarket.

“Softer snacking demand with outperformance in better-for-you options,” Jordan said. 

On Monday, Jordan downgraded General Mills and Conagra Brands due to several headwinds, “including increasing cost pressures (raw materials, tariffs, A&P investments) along with tepid volume demand amid ongoing consumption shifts toward fresh and increasing competition from private label and smaller brands.” 

Let’s hope these healthy consumer shifts are here to stay amid a nationwide health crisis.

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times,

Communist China has a long-term plan to weaken the United States by fueling the fentanyl crisis, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

Patel sat down for a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on June 6, saying that President Donald Trump has done an “amazing job” at going after drug trafficking organizations and shoring up the southern border. However, the root of the U.S. fentanyl crisis lies with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he added, due to China’s exports of fentanyl precursors.

One thing is clear is that China is “not making a ton of money” with its precursor exports, Patel added.

“In my opinion, the CCP [has] used it as a directed approach because we are their adversary,” Patel said. “And their long-term game is, ‘how do I,’ in my opinion, ‘kneecap the United States of America, our largest adversary?’” Patel said.

Patel said that the long-term plan is to “take out generations of young men and women” who could have taken on jobs such as a police officer, a soldier, or a teacher.

“That’s what they [China] are doing, when you wipe out tens of thousands of Americans a year. It’s a long-term plan for them,” he said.

In 2024, there were an estimated 48,422 deaths involving synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to data from the CDC.

In March, Trump imposed an additional 20 percent on Chinese imports over China’s role in facilitating the production of fentanyl.

Patel said China has lied to the world about stopping fentanyl precursors.

“What they did was to trick the world. They came out and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna sell precursor X.’ They’re like, ‘So now we’re out of the fentanyl trade entirely,’” Patel said. “The problem is, there [are] 14 other precursors you can use to make fentanyl, and they’re still shipping all of those.”

India and Canada

Since assuming the post of FBI chief, Patel said his bureau started a “massive enterprise” to go after China-based companies making fentanyl precursors. Now, the Chinese firms are shipping precursors to India and Canada instead, he added.

“They’re taking the precursors up to Canada, manufacturing it up there, and doing their global distribution routes from up there, because we’ve been so effective down south,” Patel said.

Patel said he “just got off the phone with the Indian government.”

“So my FBI is over there working with the heads of their [Indian] government, law enforcement authorities to say, ‘We’re going to find these companies that buy it, and we’re going to shut them down. We’re going to sanction them. We’re going to arrest them where we can. We’re going to indict them in America if we can. We’re going to indict them in India,’” Patel said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued its latest annual threat assessment report in May, expressing concerns about sophisticated fentanyl “super laboratories” in Canada.

The report noted that while fentanyl originating from Canada remains small compared to the volume coming from Mexico, it still poses a concern. “These [Canadian] operations have the potential to expand and fill any supply void created by disruptions to Mexico-sourced fentanyl production and trafficking,” the report states.

In January, two pharmaceutical companies in India, Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals, were charged with criminal conspiracy to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere. Bhavesh Lathiya, a founder and senior executive of Raxuter Chemicals, was arrested in New York City and indicted on similar charges.

The companies used deceptive and fraudulent practices to avoid detection, including mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings, according to prosecutors.

In May, federal authorities arrested 16 individuals and seized more than 400 kilograms of fentanyl across five states, in the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, according to the Department of Justice.

Patel warned that drug traffickers are producing counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl and using pill presses to shape them like candy or gummy bears, making them more appealing to young people.

Three Chinese nationals and a China-based company were charged in May for allegedly importing pill presses and other equipment for making “lethal fake pills” into the United States.

“I promised the president, the American people, we will not have kids dying of fentanyl overdoses in our streets. Just give me a little bit more time. We have a massive operation going on around the world on this,” Patel said.

DoD contracts hit $609.2 billion across U.S. states in 2023, up $50.5 billion over the year.

Overall, Texas outranked Virginia as the leading recipient of Department of Defense spending—largely concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Over the past decade, Texas’ share of defense spending has increased by 10% while Virginia’s has remained fairly stable.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows the top 10 U.S. states receiving defense spending, based on data from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Texas Receives the Biggest DoD Contracts

Here are America’s leading states for defense contracts and related spending in fiscal year 2023:

With $71.6 billion in spending, Texas ranks first overall, fueled by an $8.9 billion annual increase.

Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest arms companies, operates several factories in Texas, including an F-35 assembly plant. Meanwhile, RTX Corporation and General Dynamics run facilities across the state.

Following in second place is Virginia, home to 247,214 Department of Defense personnel. Strikingly, more than 228,000 acres of land are managed by the Department of Defense across the state. Along with the Pentagon and Marine Corps Base Quantico, it houses the world’s largest naval base.

In third spot is California, with $60.8 billion in spending. With more than 30 military installations and 161,000 active-duty military personnel, California plays a critical role in America’s military and national security operations. Together, defense and security activities contributed 5.1% to California’s GDP, equal to an estimated $196.7 billion in 2023.

To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on military spending around the world.

AI is no longer a theoretical tool, only accessible in research labs. Today, it is a ubiquitous technology being adapted across every industry, driving intense global competition and spurring innovation.

For the second story in the AI For All series, Visual Capitalist partnered with ACT | The App Association to provide a global perspective on AI innovation.

A World of AI Innovation

With a healthy global spread of AI companies providing computing and foundational models, there is a robust competitive environment driving innovation.

Incumbents in the largest markets, who have the lead in the AI race, face fierce competition from scrappy AI startups around the globe.

It’s not just the vast U.S., Chinese, and European markets that are making advancements in AI. Innovators around the world, including from lower-middle-income nations (according to World Bank classifications) such as India, are thriving and competing on an equal footing.

Regulation or Innovation

Some policymakers are eager to regulate AI.

Rapidly evolving technology often prompts government overreactions, and when regulation overreaches, it risks stifling innovation

When balancing innovation and regulation, policymakers must ensure that the benefits they create outweigh the costs they impose.

A heavy-handed approach to AI regulation only strangles innovation or forces innovators into jurisdictions with less regulation. In either case, both consumers and competition suffer.

Are you looking for more insights into the world of AI?

The App Association will release its comprehensive guide on June 12th, 2025, examining how premature or overbroad antitrust action could jeopardize AI innovation and outlining a policy approach better aligned with the realities of emerging technology.

But if you can’t wait until the 12th, you can learn more about the AI economy here.

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

After thirty days under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the contours of his government are becoming clearer. From an economic policy perspective, the diagnosis is sound—but the treatment will worsen the disease.

Those who remember the Bundestag battles between then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and his fiery rival, opposition leader Friedrich Merz, recall a man who once wrapped his rhetoric in the cloth of classical liberalism. Back then, Merz championed free enterprise where the state overreached, demanded tax cuts where the middle class was burdened, and called for deregulation to unleash growth. Had the “Milei chainsaw” existed in his time, Merz would have snatched it up with pride.

But those sweet days of opposition are long gone. Today, the spirit of the old CDU-SPD “grand coalition” has returned—with Merz sounding more like a budget manager than a reformer.

Big Promises, Hollow Delivery

Merz began his term promising to reignite the “power of the social market economy.” But across Berlin, there’s hardly anyone who knows how to make good on that vision. He spoke of liberating the economy, cutting red tape, recommitting to Germany’s constitutional debt brake, and ending the green-socialist central planning that’s throttled growth.

Yet skepticism is warranted. His campaign promises already lie in shambles, not least on migration. Germany’s border crisis continues under the fig leaf of federal police presence—a familiar pantomime. The Merz-led CDU bears sole responsibility for blocking real reform by childishly excluding the AfD from any policy alignment. This exclusion has sabotaged a possible political pivot. The “traveling chancellor,” who’s spent more time abroad than at home, will eventually crash headlong into immigration reality.

Style Over Substance

Merz’s zigzag course on the debt brake illustrates his preference for optics over substance. Instead of defending the constitutional limit on borrowing—a cornerstone of conservative fiscal thinking—he caved to his new left-leaning allies. Exploiting extra-budgetary “special funds” to circumvent the constitution is fiscal malpractice. The debt brake, once a firewall against runaway spending, is now exposed as a paper tiger.

Merz seems more inclined to avoid conflict than to defend the future. He trades tomorrow’s prosperity for today’s consensus. But real political discourse requires conflict—especially with those partners who uphold the so-called firewall against the AfD. In the moralizing echo chamber of the mainstream, real fiscal debate has no place.

Rising welfare costs due to recession, labor market erosion, and uncontrolled immigration will be patched over with increased payroll taxes and federal transfers. And as absurd as it may sound, the government’s solution is a trillion-euro “investment package” intended to give the illusion of forward momentum. Real reforms—on pensions or health care—remain off the table. Public debt is set to surge from 63% to 95% of GDP, pushing Germany into the middle tier of Europe’s debtor nations. But as long as social peace (or coalition harmony) is preserved, the price is deemed acceptable.

Fantasy Tools for a Real Crisis

Berlin bets on baby steps: a slight cut to corporate taxes, a reinstated degressive depreciation rule. These micro-measures are bundled under the marketing slogan “investment booster.” Familiar buzzwords return—cutting bureaucracy, speeding up permits, digitalizing the administration. Merz talks of a “business-friendly climate” but offers little more than old slogans in new wrapping.

Even his flagship idea—“growth ateliers”—to simplify bureaucracy for small firms is more linguistic inflation than serious reform. No ministries have been eliminated. The civil service continues to grow unchecked, the last booming “sector” of the economy. Businesses now bear €146 billion annually in administrative costs. In today’s Germany, entrepreneurs serve as fiscal prey.

Had Merz been serious about reviving Germany’s economy, he would have acted swiftly to reduce both living and production costs. Abolishing the CO₂ tax, scrapping the solidarity surcharge, or reopening the door to nuclear power would have been powerful signals. But nothing of the sort will happen. The list of rational reforms grows the deeper one ventures into Berlin’s political jungle. Merz needed a chainsaw. He won’t even pick up a paring knife.

Empty Words, Heavy Consequences

Given the crisis in Germany’s key industries—especially automotive—one might have expected a bolder course. Ending Brussels’ and Berlin’s war on combustion engines would be a start. The construction sector remains flatlined. Yet no serious attempt is made to roll back overregulation or the self-destructive climate laws. ESG mandates won’t be repealed. The “Heating Act,” the green centerpiece of the last government, will remain in place—merely “reformed.” Translation: pretend to change, preserve the core.

So far, the new government’s trajectory mirrors that of its predecessor. Merz frequently invokes Ludwig Erhard, the father of the social market economy, but betrays no real commitment to his principles. As the U.S. turns up the pressure in the trade war, Merz will face a decision: side with Brussels in building Fortress Europe, or begin dismantling the regulatory stranglehold on the Eurozone economy.

Either way, he’ll do it with a straight face. For like his predecessors, Merz too wants to go down in history as a “climate chancellor.”

* * *

Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is doubling down on its AI ambitions with a $20-billion expansion plan to build two new data center campuses in Pennsylvania, including one directly adjacent to a major nuclear power plant, Reuters reports. 

AWS is targeting the deployment of multiple data centers over the next 10 years, and the buildout will be fueled by carbon-free nuclear power, making it one of the largest private-sector nuclear-backed energy deals in the U.S. to date, according to OilPrice.

The first site, slated for Salem Township near the 2.5 GW Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, leverages a standing engineering framework based on the campus’s 960 MW design capacity. 

Amazon is partnering with Talen Energy, a former power utility-turned-nuclear innovator, which will supply the cloud giant with electricity from its Susquehanna nuclear power station, located in Luzerne County. Talen previously spun off its nuclear arm into Cumulus Data, which is developing a 475 MW data center campus adjacent to the power plant. That infrastructure will now be part of Amazon’s AI backbone.

That project is currently under FERC review after regulators capped its supply to 300 MW, citing grid reliability concerns. Still, AWS is pushing ahead, eyeing renewable-like stability without the typical grid bottlenecks.

Analysts say the move could accelerate the return of baseload nuclear as a strategic energy asset in the U.S. data economy. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called the deal the largest in the state’s history, with construction expected to generate over 1,250 union jobs in the near term.

“Pennsylvania is competing again—and I’m proud to announce that with Amazon’s commitment of at least $20 billion to build new state-of-the-art data center campuses across our Commonwealth, we have secured the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro. 

In the broader energy context, Amazon’s bet aligns with a rising wave of private-sector clean energy procurement that hopes to successfully sell a different story about AI’s energy use: That hyperscalers can reframe this as ESG-possible. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A plane with as many as 20 people on board crashed in Tennessee on Sunday, leading to several people being airlifted to hospitals, the state highway patrol confirmed.

“Initial reports suggest 16–20 people were on board. Some have been airlifted to nearby hospitals,” the Tennessee Highway Patrol wrote in a post on social media platform X, adding that the plane went down in Coffee County, around 60 miles south of Nashville.

In a post on Facebook, the highway patrol said that several people have been flown to hospitals. Others are being evaluated on-site, it added.

“This remains an active and developing situation,” said the law enforcement agency. “Tullahoma first responders and Coffee County EMS are leading response efforts. Please avoid the area to allow emergency crews room to operate safely. They will share more updates as information becomes publicly available.”

Based on the two social media posts, no fatalities have been reported as of Sunday afternoon.

Video footage released by the highway patrol on social media show the aircraft appears to be a small plane, which was broken in half.

The Epoch Times has contacted the City of Tullahoma, where the crash took place, for comment.

A spokesperson told CNN there were no fatalities, saying that the incident occurred at the Tullahoma Regional Airport. Federal Aviation Authorities officials are en route to assist in the investigation, the spokesperson added.

More details about the victims, the injuries, and information about what led up to the crash or how it occurred were not immediately available.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib is claiming Tehran has acquired a “treasure trove” of sensitive Israeli documents, including information on Israel’s secret (but long not-so-secret) nuclear weapons program, as well as apparent evidence of US and European knowledge and support.

“The transfer of this treasure trove was time-consuming and required security measures. Naturally, the transfer methods will remain confidential, but the documents should be unveiled soon,” Khatib said. He vowed to make them public, at which point this could force either an Israeli or US official statement.

Iranian state TV unveiled the alleged clandestine operation on Saturday, though no evidence was provided. Additionally, Israel has yet to acknowledge anything regarding theft of its files, which may have occurred through a cyber-breach.

The Associated Press reporting on Khatib’s words strongly points to cyber espionage, given the US-sanctioned intelligence chief’s background:

Khatib said members of the Intelligence Ministry “achieved an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence of the Zionist regime and it was transferred into the country with God’s help.”

He claimed thousands of pages of documents had been obtained and insisted they would be made public soon. Among them were documents related to the U.S., Europe and other countries, he claimed, obtained through “infiltration” and “access to the sources.”

He did not elaborate on the methods used. However, Khatib, a Shiite cleric, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 over directing “cyber espionage and ransomware attacks in support of Iran’s political goals.”

Israel has for decades had an undeclared nuclear weapons program, which the United States has never formally acknowledged, also with the State Department consistently refusing to answer questions on it.

The nuclear arsenal is commonly estimated to be somewhere in the range of 90 to 300 warheads, and it being undeclared means it remains completely outside international oversight.

Regional Muslim-majority nations have long called out Western hypocrisy on the issue. Iran’s nuclear energy program has been tightly monitored under the prior Obama JCPOA nuclear deal, and current talks with Washington aim to reestablish a similar monitoring regimen. Certainly Tehran will attempt to leverage these alleged documents as it deals with Washington on the issue.

#BREAKING EU helps Israel with nuclear weapons

Iran MFA says the files Iran obtained from Israel will expose active involvement of some European states in Israel’s military nuclear program.

He says the same states that constantly preach non-proliferation & question Iran’s… pic.twitter.com/d9VUciRXfD

— War Intel (@warintel4u) June 9, 2025

The US has also fought entire wars on the basis that an Arab regime might have WMD (weapons of mass destruction) – with Iraq and Libya being notable cases. Gaddafi was convinced by the Bush administration to ‘come in from the cold’ and give up any nuclear or chemical weapons aspirations, only to be overthrown by NATO-backed and al-Qaeda linked rebels a decade later, with the help of US, French, and UK warplanes.

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

At least 60 people were arrested on Sunday after protests against federal immigration raids in San Francisco escalated into violence, according to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

Police said officers began monitoring the assembly near Sansome and Washington streets around 7 p.m. on June 8 as protesters engaged in “First Amendment activity.”

The demonstration escalated when some protesters allegedly committed assault and vandalized property, prompting police to declare the assembly unlawful. Many people left the area after the declaration, police said in a statement.

Several protesters had refused to leave and continued to engage in illegal activity as they moved toward Market and Kearny streets, where they vandalized buildings and an SFPD patrol vehicle, it stated.

The SFPD said its officers detained protesters who refused to comply with the dispersal order. Three police officers were injured during the incident, with one transported to a hospital for medical treatment. Police also recovered a firearm at the scene.

“Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco but violence—especially against SFPD officers — will never be tolerated,” the SFPD stated, adding that an investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

Footage shared on social media shows police in riot gear forming a barricade to block protesters gathered outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in San Francisco.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said the protest has since “wound down,” and that the city is working to clean up the damage and restore public transportation services to full operation.

Lurie stated in a social media post that his office will “never tolerate violent and destructive behavior, and as crowds dwindled, a group that remained caused injuries to police officers, vandalized Muni vehicles, and broke windows of local businesses.”

Protests against ICE raids began in Los Angeles on June 6, following the arrest of dozens of illegal immigrants in the city as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation operation. Sporadic protests later broke out in New York City and San Francisco.

Authorities deployed National Guard personnel to Los Angeles as protests continued on the third day on June 8. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said that several business owners have reported incidents of looting during the protests.

President Donald Trump has directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi to take all actions necessary “to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion” and bring an end to the riots.

“A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals,” he stated on Truth Social. “Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated on June 8 that he had formally requested the Trump administration to withdraw the deployed troops from Los Angeles and return them to his command.

“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty—inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed,” Newsom stated.

At least 27 people were arrested on June 7 following the protests. During the third day of protests in Los Angeles, members of the National Guard faced off with demonstrators, leading to tear gas being fired at a growing crowd near a federal complex in the city, according to video footage.

The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, as a group shouted insults at members of the guard lined shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields. Near downtown, at least four Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire. Flashbang crowd control grenades were deployed throughout the evening.

Jack Phillips and Joseph Lord contributed to this report.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired every member of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel in a sweeping move he says is meant to restore public trust, but critics are calling it reckless and radical.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy said the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) had been plagued by conflicts of interest, rubber-stamp behavior, and opaque decision-making for decades – and that only a “clean sweep” could fix it.

The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine. It has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons. It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women. To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust. -RFK Jr.

The 17-member ACIP panel – made up of independent scientists, doctors, and public health professionals – was scheduled to meet later this month to review recommendations, including those involving COVID-19 vaccinations for children. That meeting will still go ahead, but without the current panelists, some of whom Kennedy said were ‘last-minute Biden appointees’ whose terms would have otherwise extended until 2028.

“Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,” Kennedy wrote. 

Kennedy’s defenders say this is exactly the kind of bold move needed to break the credibility crisis surrounding vaccine science and government health agencies. The new appointees, he pledged, “won’t directly work for the vaccine industry” and will “refuse to serve as a rubber stamp,” instead fostering “a culture of critical inquiry”.

But critics say the move reeks of ideology and raises fears that Kennedy will stack the committee with vaccine skeptics or unqualified appointees, further eroding trust.

“Firing experts that have spent their entire lives protecting kids from deadly disease is not reform — it’s reckless, radical, and rooted in conspiracy, not science,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a scathing statement.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who said Kennedy had pledged to leave ACIP intact during confirmation talks, posted on X that he was now concerned about who would replace the experts.

“Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Cassidy wrote.

Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.https://t.co/iXjTDieAwY

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) June 9, 2025

Kennedy, however, insists this isn’t about ideology — it’s about transparency, independence, and restoring the public’s faith in an institution that once commanded global respect.

“In the 1960s, the world sought guidance from America’s health regulators,” Kennedy wrote. “Public trust has since collapsed, but we will earn it back.”

Whether the public sees this as reform or a purge, one thing is clear: the Trump administration is moving fast to reshape America’s health bureaucracy — and no sacred cow is safe.