CDC gets list of forbidden words: fetus, transgender, diversity

The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.

Policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were told of the list of forbidden words at a meeting Thursday with senior CDC officials who oversee the budget, according to an analyst who took part in the 90-minute briefing. The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

In some instances, the analysts were given alternative phrases. Instead of “science-based” or ­“evidence-based,” the suggested phrase is “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes,” the person said. In other cases, no replacement words were immediately offered.

The question of how to address such issues as sexual orientation, gender identity and abortion rights — all of which received significant visibility under the Obama administration — has surfaced repeatedly in federal agencies since President Trump took office. Several key departments — including Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, as well as Justice, Education, and Housing and Urban Development — have changed some federal policies and how they collect government information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

In March, for example, HHS dropped questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in two surveys of elderly people.

HHS has also removed information about LGBT Americans from its website. The department’s Administration for Children and Families, for example, archived a page that outlined federal services that are available for LGBT people and their families, including how they can adopt and receive help if they are the victims of sex trafficking.

At the CDC, the meeting about the banned words was led by Alison Kelly, a senior leader in the agency’s Office of Financial Services, according to the CDC analyst, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly. Kelly did not say why the words are being banned, according to the analyst, and told the group that she was merely relaying the information.

Other CDC officials confirmed the existence of a list of forbidden words.It’s likely that other parts of HHS are operating under the same guidelines regarding the use of these words, the analyst said.

At the CDC, several offices have responsibility for work that uses some of these words. The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention is working on ways to prevent HIV among transgender people and reduce health disparities. The CDC’s work on birth defects caused by the Zika virus includes research on the developing fetus.

The ban is related to the budget and supporting materials that are to be given to the CDC’s partners and to Congress, the analyst said. The president’s budget for 2019 is expected to be released in early February. The budget blueprint is generally shaped to reflect an administration’s priorities.

Federal agencies are sending in their budget proposals to the Office of Management and Budget, which has authority about what is included.

The longtime CDC analyst, whose job includes writing descriptions of the CDC’s work for the administration’s annual spending blueprint, could not recall a previous time when words were banned from budget documents because they were considered controversial.

The reaction of people in the meeting was “incredulous,” the analyst said. “It was very much, ‘Are you serious? Are you kidding?’ ”

“In my experience, we’ve never had any pushback from an ideological standpoint,” the analyst said.

News of the ban on certain words hasn’t yet spread to the broader group of scientists at the CDC, but it’s likely to provoke a backlash, the analyst said. “Our subject matter experts will not lay down quietly — this hasn’t trickled down to them yet.”

The CDC has a budget of about $7 billion and more than 12,000 employees working across the nation and around the globe on everything from food and water safety, to heart disease and cancer, to infectious disease outbreak prevention. Much of the CDC’s work has strong bipartisan support.

Kelly told the analysts that “certain words” in the CDC’s budget drafts were being sent back to the agency for correction. Three words that had been flagged in these drafts were “vulnerable,” “entitlement” and “diversity.” Kelly told the group the ban on the other words had been conveyed verbally.

Feminist lawyer reportedly promised cash to Trump sexual harassment accusers

A high-profile feminist attorney promised two women they would be financially compensated for publicly accusing President Donald Trump of sexual harassment in the waning months of the 2016 presidential election.

Lisa Bloom, who represented four Trump accusers – two of whom came forward – told the women she could arrange paid media appearances and secure cash from donors in exchange for their public accusations, two of her clients told The Hill.

The California attorney told one woman, who ultimately decided against coming forward, that a donor was willing to shell out as much as $750,000 for the accusation and promised another woman a donor agreed to pay off her mortgage, according to contractual documents, emails and text messages reviewed by The Hill.

In a text exchange with one of the accusers, Bloom indicates that a pro Clinton PAC might also be willing to provide financial support.

Bloom, who has represented sexual harassment accusers as well as disgraced alleged sexual abuser Harvey Weinstein, acknowledged accepting donations on behalf of her clients in order to provide for their security and relocation, in a statement to The Hill.

“Donors reached out to my firm directly to help some of the women I represented,” Bloom said.

She further conceded her firm does take a 33 percent commission when arranging a paid media appearance on behalf of a client.

“Our standard pro bono agreement for legal services provides that if a media entity offers to compensate a client for sharing his or her story we receive a percentage of those fees,” she said. “This rarely happens. But, on occasion, a case generates media interest and sometimes (not always) a client may receive an appearance fee.”

Bloom, who represented the Bill Cosby and Bill O’Reilly accusers, established a crowdfunding campaign for former beauty contestant manager Jill Harth after the media exposed her 1997 sexual harassment lawsuit against Trump in the summer of 2016. Harth contacted Bloom to represent her in the fall after Trump publicly denied her allegations. Bloom later arranged her for a donor to pay off the mortgage on Hart’s Queens, N.Y. apartment.

“Nothing that you’ve said to me about my mortgage or the Go Fund Me that was created to help me out financially affects the facts or the veracity of my 1997 federal complaint against Donald J. Trump for sexual harassment and assault,” Hart told The Hill.

A second unnamed woman who decided not to go public with her accusation haggled with Bloom over how much money she might be able to secure from sympathetic donors, eventually reaching $750,000, according to text conversations between the two women.

At one point in their ongoing text conversation Bloom indicated she had reached out to a pro-Clinton PAC to solicit a donation.

“It’s my understanding that there is some Clinton Super Pack [sic] that could help out if we did move forward,” the woman wrote Bloom in Oct. 2016. “If we help the Clinton campaign they in turn could help or compensate us?”

The anonymous woman, who was a friend of Hart’s, told The Hill she decided to publicize her story after hearing that Bloom was representing Weinstein. Bloom discontinued her representation as the accusations against Weinstein mounted.

Both women maintain Bloom never encouraged them to publicly accuse Trump of any falsehoods.

Swedish Brothers Rape Children Over 1,000 Times. The Sentence They Get is Shocking.

Two brothers in northern Sweden in their mid-thirties have been convicted of sexually abusing five children between the ages of three and 14 over 1,000 times — and the harshest sentence they got was 14 years in prison.

The victims were apparently children who had been bullied in school or whose lives at home were difficult; the brothers plied them with drugs, alcohol and money, as testimony was given in Ångermanland District Court.

The older brother was convicted of more than 580 cases of aggravated child rape and at least 500 cases of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, The Local reported. The younger brother was found guilty of at least 500 child rapes and more than 50 cases of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.

In Sweden, child rape is defined as sexual intercourse or equivalent acts with a person younger than 15. That definition was codified April 1, 2005. Thus, acts committed before that are described as sexual exploitation of minors. Sweden also treats each case of sexual violence as a separate incident, whether or not the victim is the same person.

The verdict stated the brothers committed their crimes between 2001 and 2009 in Trelleborg, southern Sweden, and Sollefteå in northern Sweden.

The police investigation into the monstrous acts found over 250 hours of video footage and more than 5,000 indecent images of children in their home; some of the video and photos were of the rape victims.

The Local writes:

The brothers often played video games and roleplay games together with the children, alternating the games with sexual acts. The abuse became "normalized", the court wrote in the verdict. If a child was hesitant, the older brother in some cases is said to have offered them cannabis, alcohol and money. One of the victims said he saw the older man as a role model and "hero.” He did not want to lose him as a friend and "felt bad" to say no to sex. Another, who was bullied in school and had problems at home, said he thought of his time with the brothers as "a safe haven.”

 On Friday, the older brother was sentenced to 14 years in jail; the younger brother, 12 years. The lighter sentence for the younger brother was based in part on the fact that he was younger than 21 when he committed the crimes. The brothers were ordered to pay $350,000 to the victims.

From Depression to Dementia: Foods That Improve Your Mental Health After 40

The older you get, the more you start to worry about age-associated diseases. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect millions of Americans, leaving many in search of ways to prevent poor health in their 40s and beyond.

It turns out your diet could improve your mental health and slow cognitive decline — but what you should eat changes as you age. Here are the foods you should be eating to save your brain and prolong your life.

Dark chocolate

If you’ve ever eaten large quantities of chocolate to ward off emotional distress, you’ve had the right idea. Chemically, chocolate really does have the power to enhance your mood, thanks to endorphins.

But that’s not all chocolate’s good for — especially dark chocolate. Its antioxidant properties can diminish the oxidative stress that often leads to cognitive decline. Eat a small amount every day to keep your memory sharp and your brain in good condition.

Brown rice

Are grain-based foods like bread and rice really as bad for you as everyone says? Not if you’re eating pure whole grains — which are more nutritious than the varieties you usually find in breakfast cereals and white breads. These grains are good for digestion and disease prevention, even in your brain.

People who eat whole grains are healthier and less likely to die from disease than those who don’t. Brown rice is just one of many foods that, if eaten regularly, could help you live longer.

Grapes

Your mom used to remind you to eat your fruits and vegetables so you’d grow up healthy. Don’t break that habit just because you’re getting older. Fruits, especially those eaten with their skin intact, provide fiber and other vitamins and minerals essential for healthy aging.

Grapes can improve and prevent a number of chronic conditions, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Like other fruits, their antioxidant properties can boost your mood and decrease your dementia risk.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes provide a variety of vitamins and minerals that could have anti-inflammatory benefits. Eating large quantities of potatoes won’t prevent or cure the world’s deadliest diseases, but they could help prevent symptoms you don’t want your body to have to endure in older age.

Some researchers believe that inflammation and dementia could share an important connection. Reducing inflammation overall could reduce your risk for a number of diseases and keep your brain healthy.

Spinach

Adding a little spinach to your diet may be one of the best things you can do to protect your brain. If you have high blood pressure, the plant’s high potassium content could actually save you from dementia.

One type of dementia, called vascular dementia, results from inadequate blood supply to certain parts of your brain. High blood pressure actually increases your risk of this disease, especially if it isn’t well maintained for long periods of time.

Mixed nuts

People often lump nuts in with other high-calorie, high-fat snack foods and warn against consuming them regularly. However, you shouldn’t avoid them completely if you want to protect your brain.

Many nuts, high in omega-3 fatty acids, decrease your risk of developing depression. Poor mental health and dementia share a possible link, so if you’re eating to fend off the devastating brain disease, add some walnuts or cashews to your shopping list ASAP.

Tuna

Omega-3 fatty acids, also present in substantial amounts in tuna and other fish, can also slow cognitive decline as you get older. The sharper your mind, the less likely you are to succumb to certain diseases.

In addition to plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, tuna proves to be an excellent source of lean protein. Protein is an essential component of healthy aging, especially for those making it a point to exercise regularly to maintain optimal health.

Eating These ‘Healthy’ Foods Every Day Might Actually Make You Gain Weight Like Crazy

Are your go-to “healthy” foods making you gain weight? Don’t think you can get away with smothering everything in yogurt and almond butter — especially if you’re trying to lose weight. All these foods are healthy, and are great replacements for processed snacks and frozen meals. However, eating too much of a healthy food will likely result in weight gain.

Whole-grain breads and cereals

Bread is healthy — sometimes. According to TIME Health, not all whole grains are as good for you as their packaging claims. Many whole-grain breads are still made with refined flour, and contain only small amounts of actual whole grains. It’s possible to gain weight from eating too many refined carbohydrates when labels misguide you. Also, even though a bread or cereal might be made with whole grains doesn’t mean it’s free of added sugars, or low in calories.

Nuts and nut butters

Nuts and nut butters are high in protein, but that doesn’t automatically make them healthy. A handful of almonds is healthier than a handful of chocolate chips, but it’s also high in calories — about 163 calories per ounce, Live Science says. At 14 grams of fat per serving, eating too many in one sitting makes weight gain much more likely. Nut butters aren’t necessarily unhealthy, either, but don’t spread too much onto your toast if you’re serious about your diet.

Dried fruit

Fruit is healthy no matter what form you eat it in — right? Not quite. Dried fruit, often part of packaged trail mix, isn’t nearly as healthy as fresh, whole fruit. According to Healthline, it’s high in calories and natural sugar. Many varieties also contain added sugars, which often contribute to weight gain. It may be convenient, but you are better off choosing fresh fruit as often as possible. Trail mixes, cereals, and health bars with dried fruit in them are healthier than other snacks, but still aren’t your best options.

Rice

Filling your plate with white rice — no matter how many vegetables you pile on top — isn’t the best weight loss strategy, says SF Gate. White rice, and other refined grains, lack essential nutrients important for combatting weight gain, such as fiber. Both white and brown rice provide over 200 calories per serving, which really starts to add up if you eat it every day. Often used as a base or side dish in addition to high-calorie and high-fat foods — especially Chinese takeout — it’s easy to eat too much rice in one sitting.

Beans

According to Livestrong.com, it’s possible to eat beans regularly and still lose weight. However, you’re probably not using your beans wisely — and that can result in weight gain. Baked beans are often loaded with sugar-packed sauce, and refried beans almost always come with sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. Consider adding beans to your soups and salads, and enjoying other high-calorie bean-based side dishes only on special occasions.

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt provides more protein than regular yogurt, and can be an excellent source of fiber, says Women’s Health. However, too many people take the advice to start with plain yogurt and add your own ingredients to the extreme. Honey, nuts, fruit, and granola are all healthy in small amounts, but it’s important to remain mindful of your calories. While calories aren’t the only factor that determine weight gain or loss, ignoring portion sizes and indulging in too many extras will almost always sabotage your efforts.

Avocados

Avocados are loaded with healthy fat — so you’d think eating more avocado every day would help you lose weight, right? Half of an avocado yields about 110 calories, though, says Medical News Today. However, 15% of that comes from fat — and even though it’s the “good” kind of fat, too much of it still won’t help you lose weight. The occasional indulgence can be great for your heart, but other fruits can provide similar benefits for far fewer calories per gram — and they won’t make you gain weight as easily.

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