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RFK Jr. seeks to ban soda buying with food stamps in health push

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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined West Virginia’s governor, Patrick Morrisey, on Friday in declaring the latest front in their war on unhealthy foods.

Morrisey announced that he will ask the United States Department of Agriculture to stop allowing West Virginia residents to purchase soda through government-funded food programs.

“West Virginia is leading the nation in passing a bill to clean up our food supply and submitting a waiver to remove soda from SNAP,” Kennedy said at an elementary school in Martinsburg, West Virgina, where he joined Morrisey to announce new state legislation banning certain food dyes in school lunches.

The joint event, where both men sported green caps emblazoned with Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” slogan, offered a glimpse at the Trump administration’s playbook for going after Big Soda. And if they have their way, the momentum could spread to other states. 

According to entrepreneur and White House adviser Calley Means, who was also present at the event, the Trump administration is suggesting states submit waivers to the USDA to take soda out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a first step before moving onto candy and other confectioneries. 

Kennedy is working to convince other state governors to take similar action, according to Means. “Bobby is talking to at least 15 governors” to convince them to take similar action, Means said. HHS does not have authority to approve the waivers, but Kennedy is lending his political cachet to build momentum. 

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins expressed openness to the idea of working with Kennedy to examine unhealthy food purchased through SNAP.

“Are [taxpayers] okay with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?” Rollins said last month.  

Neither PepsiCo or Keurig Dr. Pepper responded to requests for comment. Coca-Cola Co. referred requests for comment to the industry’s Washington DC-based trade group, American Beverage.

“We are fiercely protective of our consumers and their ability to make decisions for their families,” said Meredith Potter, a senior vice president at American Beverage. “We do not support restricting what a certain amount of the population can buy.”

Both Kennedy and Morrisey criticized soda manufacturers for lobbying against the changes, and Kennedy likened the fight against food lobbyists to the public health push against the tobacco industry.

“It takes a lot of courage to stand up to these companies the same way that it did to stand up to big tobacco,” Kennedy said.  

Earlier this week, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill seeking a waiver from the government to stop state residents from using their benefits for candy or soda. The federal government’s SNAP program serves 42 million, according to the agency’s 2023 fiscal year data.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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The tariff chaos is a golden opportunity for CEOs to give up their bad habit of offering earnings guidance

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‘A Minecraft Movie’ brings in another $80.6 million to top the box office again, making it Hollywood’s biggest film of 2025

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After just two weeks in theaters, “A Minecraft Movie” is already the highest grossing Hollywood release of 2025.

The Warner Bros. videogame adaptation followed up its blockbuster opening with a second weekend of $80.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it’s quickly surpassed $550 million.

After doubling expectations in its $300 million global debut, “A Minecraft Movie” continued to draw audiences unlike anything else this year. The film, directed by Jared Hess and starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, slid 50% in its second go-around in U.S. and Canadian theaters — an impressive hold after such a big debut.

Though critics slammed the movie (46% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores were merely good (a “B+” CinemaScore), “A Minecraft Movie” latched on with moviegoers who have increasingly turned out in droves for big-budget videogame adaptations.

“A Minecraft Movie,” a $150 million co-production of Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, has helped -– at least for now -– reinvigorate theaters after a dismal start to the year. Overall ticket sales were double that of the same weekend in 2024, according to Comscore. Before “A Minecraft,” box office revenues trailed last year’s by 11%, but have now virtually pulled even. (2025 grosses still trail 2019’s by 31%, according to Comscore.)

None of the weekend’s new releases — Angel Studios’ “The King of Kings,” the Walt Disney Co.’s “The Amateur,” Universal Pictures’ “Drop” or A24’s “Warfare” — came close to challenging “Minecraft,” but several films outperformed expectations.

“The King of Kings,” an animated tale of Jesus’ life aimed at Christian audiences, came in second with $19.1 million in 3,200 theaters. The film, loosely based on a children’s book by Charles Dickens, includes a starry voice cast led by Oscar Isaac, Kenneth Branagh and Uma Thurman.

With an enviable “A+” CinemaScore from audiences, “The King of Kings” is posed to capitalize in the coming week before Easter. Part three of Fathom Entertainment’s TV series, “The Chosen: Last Supper,” also looked to appeal to Christian audiences. It launched with $6.2 million from 2,296 cinemas.

“The Amateur,” a 20th Century production starring Rami Malek as a CIA cryptographer hunting down his wife’s killers, debuted with $15 million domestically, plus another $17.2 million overseas. Critics deemed the revenge thriller an awkward star vehicle for Malek, who also produced. “The Amateur” cost $60 million to make.

“Warfare,” director Alex Garland’s follow-up to 2024’s “Civil War,” opened with $8.3 million in ticket sales from 2,670 theaters. Garland co-wrote and co-directed the A24 release with Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza, who based the film on 2006 mission he and his fellow Navy SEALs undertook during the war. “Warfare,” which cost about $20 million to make, was lauded by critics as an uncommonly realistic portrait of combat.

“Drop,” the latest thriller from Blumhouse Productions, debuted with $7.5 million from 3,085 theaters. Christopher Landon’s film stars Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) as a single-mom widow on a first date (Brandon Sklenar) who’s being terrorized by an unknown person by messages to her phone. “Drop,” which premiered at SXSW, cost less than $10 million to produce.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “A Minecraft Movie,” $80.6 million.

2. “The King of Kings,” $19.1 million.

3. “The Amateur,” $15 million.

4. “Warfare,” $8.3 million.

5. “Drop,” $7.5 million.

6. “The Chosen: Last Supper (Part 3),” $6 million.

7. “A Working Man,” $3.1 million.

8. “Snow White,” $2.8 million.

9. “The Woman in the Yard,” $2.1 million.

10. “The Chosen: Last Supper (Part 2),” $932,106.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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