News Digest

  WASHINGTON —  Today, the   U.S. Small Business Administration   (SBA) announced a major surge in manufacturing loans during the first 90 days of the Trump Administration. Compared to the same period during the Biden Administration, the number of SBA 7(a) loan approvals for small manufacturers has increased by 74%. The 7(a) loan program is SBA’s flagship program, a public-private partnership which offers government-guaranteed loans to help small businesses finance equipment purchases, real estate acquisition, working capital (including revolving credit lines), and business expansion. Since Jan. 20, 2025, SBA has approved over 1,120 7(a) loans for manufacturers with a total loan volume of $677 million. During the same period in 2021, SBA approved less than 650 7(a) loans for manufacturers with a total loan volume of $497 million. Nearly 99% of American manufacturers are considered to be  small businesses . “Loan applications and approvals for small manufacturers...

The percentage of American children estimated to have autism spectrum disorder increased in 2022, continuing a long-running trend, according to data released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among 8-year-olds, one in 31 were found to have autism in 2022, compared with 1 in 36 in 2020. That rate is nearly five times as high as the figure in 2000, when the agency first began collecting data. The health agency noted that the increase was most likely being driven by better awareness and screening, not necessarily because autism itself was becoming more common. That diverged sharply from the rhetoric of the nation’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who on Tuesday said, “The autism epidemic is running rampant.” Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly tried to connect rising autism rates with vaccines, despite dozens of studies over decades that failed to establish such a link. The health secretary nonetheless has initiated a federal study that will revisit the possibi...

 At every light switch, power socket, and on the road, an unstoppable revolution is already underway. Technologies that can power our lives and jobs while doing less harm to the global climate — wind, solar, batteries, etc. — are getting cheaper, more efficient, and more abundant. The pace of progress on price, scale, and performance has been so extraordinary that even the most optimistic forecasts about green tech in the past have turned out to be too pessimistic. Clean energy isn’t just powering our devices, tools, and luxuries — it’s growing the global economy, creating a whole suite of new jobs, and reshaping trade. And despite what headlines may say, there’s no sign these trends will reverse. Political and economic turmoil may slow down clean energy, but the sector has built up so much momentum that it’s become nigh unstoppable. Take a look at Texas: The largest oil- and gas-producing state in the US is also the largest in wind energy, and it’s installing more solar than any o...

 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Background.  The United States controls one of the largest and most abundant ocean resources in the world, with over 4 million square miles of prime fishing grounds.  With this vast resource and centuries of hard work from American fishermen, our Nation has the greatest seafood in the world. Most American fish stocks are healthy and have viable markets.  Despite these opportunities, seafood is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the United States.  Federal overregulation has restricted fishermen from productively harvesting American seafood including through restrictive catch limits, selling our fishing grounds to foreign offshore wind companies, inaccurate and outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of modern technology. The United States should be the world’s dominant seafood leader.  But in ad...

  Today, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced increased transparency, accountability, and predictability for the permitting review process for the first wave of critical mineral production projects—with many more projects on the way—in response to President Trump’s Executive Order,   Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production . Identifying these transparency projects under the Permitting Council’s statutory program advances the President’s directive to take immediate action to facilitate domestic production of America’s vast mineral resources to create jobs, fuel prosperity, and significantly reduce our reliance on foreign nations. “This is the first use of the Permitting Council’s transparency authority, and we look forward to showcasing the many benefits the Federal Permitting Dashboard can bring to critical infrastructure projects as part of President Trump’s Executive Order on increasing American mineral product...

 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off a tour through southwestern states on Monday by calling on states to ban fluoride in drinking water supplies, a move that would reverse what some medical experts consider one of the most important public health practices in the country’s history. The announcement came at a news conference in Utah, the first state to enact such a ban into law. The state’s new law is set to take effect in early May, despite concerns from public health experts who consider fluoridation of water core to preventing tooth decay. “It makes no sense to have it in our water supply,” Mr. Kennedy said, echoing a position he took during the 2024 presidential campaign. “I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will come.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which Mr. Kennedy oversees as health secretary, has listed fluoridation as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. ...

 During a recent five-year period, a substantial portion of maternal deaths in America — almost one-third — took place more than six weeks after childbirth, at a time when most new mothers think they are in the clear, researchers reported on Wednesday. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is one of the first to track maternal health complications during pregnancy and in the year after delivery. Pregnancy-related death rates in the United States rose almost 28 percent from 2018 to 2022, the researchers found, surging at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 before subsiding somewhat. “Our study illustrates why we can’t take our eyes off maternal health,” said Dr. Rose L. Molina, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and one of the study’s authors. Women need “access to high-quality care from the moment of conception to a full year after birth,” she added. While there has been a growing emphasis on care in the ...

  WASHINGTON D.C — Today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is delivering on President Trump’s  decisive Executive Order to remove barriers to American leadership  in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by releasing two revised policies on Federal Agency Use of AI and Federal Procurement. These memos were revised at the direction of the Executive Order and in coordination with the Assistant to the President on Science and Technology and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).   Under President Trump’s leadership, America is well positioned to maintain our global dominance in AI. To better serve the public, the Federal Government must capitalize on the advantages of American innovation while maintaining strong protections for Americans’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. “President Trump recognizes that AI is a technology that will define the future. This administration is focused on encouraging and promoting American AI innovati...

  SUPPORTING AND EMBRACING AMERICAN INNOVATION:   Under President Trump’s leadership, America is well-positioned to maintain its global dominance in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation. Today, the White House Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, issued two revised policies to facilitate responsible AI adoption to improve public services. These policies fundamentally shift perspectives and direction from the prior Administration, focusing now on utilizing emerging technologies to modernize the Federal Government. The Executive Branch is shifting to a forward-leaning, pro-innovation and pro competition mindset rather than pursuing the risk-averse approach of the previous administration. The Federal Government will no longer impose unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions on the use of innovative American AI in the Executive Branch. By embracing AI adoption, agencies will be more agile, cost-effective, a...

  ACHIEVING AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE:   Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order reinvigorating America’s beautiful clean coal industry. The Executive Order: Directs the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a “mineral” under Executive Order 14241, entitling coal to all of the benefits of that prior Order. Directs relevant agencies to identify coal resources on Federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining, and prioritize coal leasing on those lands. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to acknowledge the end of the Jewell Moratorium, which paused coal leasing on Federal lands. Requires agencies to rescind any agency policies that seek to transition the Nation away from coal production or otherwise establish preferences against coal as a generation resource. Directs CEQ to assist agencies in adopting coal-related categorical exclusions under NEPA. Seeks to promote coal and coal technology exports, facilitate international offtake...