As we prepare to celebrate 250 years of freedom this summer, America should resolve to once again be a healthy nation. Chronic disease has been rapidly increasing for decades, and for far too long, the federal government’s approach to nutrition has been part of the problem. Empowered by President Donald Trump’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will soon publish a final rule that will more than double the amount of healthy food that many retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are required to stock.

Since its inception, SNAP has helped our most vulnerable citizens afford the essential and nutritious food they need. At least, that is what the program is supposed to do. Over time, however, SNAP has been taken advantage of, allowing many to game the system and leaving millions of vulnerable Americans without healthy, nutrient-dense food options. 

This has accelerated the health crisis that our nation is up against. Every year, 90% of the nearly $5 trillion the United States spends on healthcare goes toward treating people with chronic conditions. And of the roughly 73 million children under age 18 in the United States, the CDC reports that over 40% have at least one chronic health condition, while more than 350,000 American children have been diagnosed with diabetes.  

The consequences are far-reaching and have even put our national security at risk. Due primarily to obesity, poor physical fitness, and/or mental health challenges, more than 75% of Americans aged 17 to 24 are ineligible for military service — a staggering and dangerous reality.

WHOLE MILK HEADED BACK TO SCHOOL CAFETERIAS AFTER TRUMP SIGNS LAW AS EXPERTS TOUT BENEFITS

“SNAP/EBT Food Stamp Benefits Accepted” is displayed on a screen inside a Family Dollar Stores Inc. store in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Rising rates of childhood chronic disease are driven by a combination of factors. Improving SNAP — which covers 15.6 million children, or about 39% of all SNAP participants — is a terrific place to start. When it comes to a lack of healthy options for both America’s children and adults, the stocking standards that classify the foods retailers are required to stock to redeem SNAP benefits are a key culprit. 

The current stocking standards were established when SNAP was used quite differently. Today, too many taxpayer dollars are spent on highly processed products loaded with empty calories. With nearly 266,000 retailers nationwide redeeming nearly $96 billion in SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2025, we can’t afford not to act. 

To take just one example of SNAP misuse, retailers have been able to qualify for SNAP by selling jelly, passing it off as a “fruit,” and making a quick buck off it. This was never the intent of SNAP, and the Trump administration is laser-focused on restoring the program to its original mission.

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Our pending final rule raises the bar for stocking by strengthening requirements for retailers and closing loopholes that have allowed certain snack foods to count as staple foods. This rule requires all retailers to carry a minimum of 28 varieties across the four staple food groups — more than double the 12 they are currently required to carry. This will mean more real food like eggs, chicken, whole grain breads, fruit and yogurt on store shelves and on Americans’ plates. 

Americans on SNAP deserve even more than 28 varieties, but this is a long overdue step in the right direction. It is also the very least retailers can do in exchange for receiving federal taxpayer dollars, since public money should go toward supporting the national interest. And retailers participating in SNAP should feel obligated to offer a variety of healthy foods, period.

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At long last, we are modernizing SNAP to responsibly steward taxpayer dollars, promote healthy eating and empower Americans to lead better lives. This pending final rule squares with the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ call to eat real food by ensuring low-income Americans have healthy options available wherever they shop.

There is no better 250th birthday present we can give America than making our nation healthier through real food grown by our incredible farmers, ranchers and producers. Stay tuned — there is much more to come before July 4th. 

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the 26th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s most powerful security chief and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has died in an Israeli air strike. Along with him, son Murtuza Larijani, office head Ali Reza Biyat and several bodyguards were also killed. Iran itself confirmed this. Israel described it as a ‘precise operation’, but there is a clear message from Iran that now the revenge will be very heavy.

Now the path to peace is over, the war will drag on for a long time

Experts say that Israel killed Larijani because he was the biggest supporter of peace and dialogue. One expert said, ‘Israel deliberately torpedoed the hope for peace. Larijani was the only person who could make a deal with the Trump administration. After his death there is no way left for dialogue or peace.

Ali Larijani’s death is Iran’s biggest blow after the assassination of Supreme Leader Khamenei. Now Iran says that retaliatory attacks will be even faster and heavier. Many experts believe that this incident will prolong the war. Missile and drone attacks from Iran have already intensified. The use of cluster munition has increased. There is a possibility of more attacks from Israel also. There is no hope of de-escalation from either side.

Who was Ali Larijani and why was his death so big?

Ali Larijani was born in 1958 in Najaf, Iraq. He belonged to a very influential religious family. His father Ayatollah Mirza Hashim Amoli was a great religious leader. The Larijani family was called the ‘Kennedy family of Iran’ because many of their brothers remained at the top of Iran’s politics and security.

He was an educated and pragmatist leader. BSc in Computer Science from Sharif University, MA and PhD in Western Philosophy from Tehran University. He was the Deputy Commander of IRGC in 1980, then Chief of IRIB (Radio-TV), Foreign Minister and Parliament Speaker. But most importantly he was the Secretary of SNSC. This post is considered the main coordinator of Iran’s national security, foreign policy and nuclear program. He played a big role in the JCPOA nuclear deal of 2015.

After the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Larijani became the de-facto leader of the country. He was the bridge between the IRGC and the regime. Was in favor of negotiation and compromise. There were possibilities of some talks between America and Iran through Oman.

“It won’t be long now.”  That was President Donald J. Trump, speaking on the timeline for commercial traffic to flow again through the Strait of Hormuz at the White House on Tuesday.  U.S. forces are “knocking the hell out of the coast,” Trump said. “As soon as that war is over, which it will be soon, prices are going to drop like a rock,” he added.  “You watch.”

Control of the Strait of Hormuz is a top geopolitical prize, and one of the core objectives of Operation Epic Fury. On a good day, 130 ships transit the Strait every 24 hours, moving cargo and about 20 million barrels of oil products.  Currently, about 6 million barrels per day of oil from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have been rerouted to Red Sea pipelines. 

China takes 40% of the oil flowing through the Strait.  All told, 89% of the oil transiting the Strait goes to Asian markets.  In contrast, U.S. crude oil imports coming through the Strait of Hormuz are at a 40-year low, accounting for just 2% of U.S. petroleum liquids consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

You can see the potential for leverage with China. 

MULTIPLE ALLIES DECLINE US CALLS FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SUPPORT AMID RISING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

From March 1 to 9, only an estimated 10 tankers and 39 cargo vessels transited.  Two Indian tankers carrying LPG, made it through, along with several sanctioned, shadow-fleet vessels likely carrying Iranian oil.  The bulk carrier Iron Maiden, registered in the Marshall Islands, slipped through by describing itself as “all Chinese-crewed,” according to a Maritime Executive report.  

But most of the big VLCC tankers are still on pause because Lloyd’s of London and other insurers jacked up oil cargo insurance rates. They fear a repeat of the 1980s tanker war, when Iran’s navy attacked 168 ships.  One was the oil and bulk ore carrier Norman Atlantic, which was set ablaze after attacks by Iranian gunboats on December 6, 1987.  The burning hulk was towed out of the shipping lane and sunk off Oman. 

With more than 100 Iranian ships destroyed so far in Operation Epic Fury, there is practically no way Iran can sustain naval attacks.  In fact, no ship has been targeted since March 12. 

Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

However, the persistent tactical problem is that large ships following a predictable route are easier to target, even given Iran’s degraded status. The Strait is 104 miles long, and just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. The shipping channel is even tighter. There is an inbound lane and an outbound lane, each two miles wide. As Trump put it on Monday afternoon, “literally a single terrorist can put something in the water, or shoot something, or shoot a missile, a small missile, and it’s really close range, because it is a tight area.” 

TRUMP WARNS NATO OF ‘VERY BAD’ FUTURE IF ALLIES DON’T HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

On Monday, Trump warned he would “strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait far more than ours” to help out.  He’s steamed at the slow response and no wonder.  Last year, more than 20 nations participated in Operation Prosperity Guardian, a maritime task force countering Houthi attacks in the Red Sea from 2023 to 2025.  Japan and South Korea import 70% of their oil via the Strait. 

“We thought that Europe would help, because they do have some minesweepers,” Trump said Tuesday.  “I think it’s very unfair to the United States,” he complained. 

So, the world is waiting for U.S. Central Command to announce a plan. This won’t be like the convoys you see in World War II movies. Surveillance, rather than side-by-side vessel escort, will be the basis for assisting merchant traffic. 

Here are five technologies essential to control of the Strait.

Maritime Moving Target Indicator.  As seen in the Caribbean, the U.S. Navy has crystalline maritime surveillance.  Technologies blend visual, heat detection and subtle radar shifts to cover wide areas or drill down on specific targets.  Maritime moving target indicator (MMTI) on planes like the Navy’s P-8 and the MQ-4C, a high-altitude drone with a 130-foot wingspan, are normally used to keep tabs on China’s navy.   They know how to cut through the coastline clutter of radar return and atmospheric distortion and find any IRGC small boats still in the Strait. 

Airpower.  To get after drones and shoreline anti-ship cruise missiles, “the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water,” as Trump said Thursday.

Mine Counter Measures Ships.  Drifting, moored or placed on the sea bottom, mines are a high anxiety threat, but one well-known to the U.S. Navy. Iran has 3,000 to 6,000 mines of Russian, North Korean and Chinese origin, including China’s nasty EM-52 bottom mine with a 600-lb. warhead.  U.S. Navy Independence-class littoral combat ships like USS Tulsa, carry sensors and unmanned vessels that locate, identify and destroy mines. 

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Underwater Drones.  For hunting mines, its U.S. Navy underwater drones to the rescue.  They range from the 12-foot long MK 18 Mod 2 Kingfish, which looks like a torpedo, up to the new, massive Orca, a 54-foot autonomous submarine that lurks underwater to carry out “diverse missions.”  Consider, too, that China has an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 naval mines, and the Navy has been training to defeat them in the Pacific.  You can bet the U.S. will know exactly what types of mines Iran tries to emplace, and will find and neutralize them.

The Marines.  Much more than a technology, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on USS Tripoli, is in high-speed transit en route to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in the Middle East. It will provide options for interdicting any ships unwise enough to cause mischief.  Tripoli also brings more F-35B fighters. Historical fact:Tripoli, was hit by an Iraqi contact mine years ago during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 but was back in action in less than 24 hours. 

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Global shipping does not turn on a dime.  Vessels are on precise schedules down to the minute for entering and departing harbors.  A rerouting decision takes time to correct.

Still, I have no doubt that in a matter of days, shipping traffic will ramp up, with the U.S. in control of the Strait of Hormuz.  And China will just have to watch.

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